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Lord Falconer of Thoroton: My Lords, from my experience, the Civil Service has continued fearlessly, as always, throughout the time of this Government to give impartial advice in the best interests of the state, whether or not Ministers want to hear it. In the vast majority of cases, I do not believe that special advisers hinder or damage that process; indeed, far from it, they make it easier. As many civil servants recognise, Ministers are frequently unavailable and it is useful to have special advisers who can reflect their views to civil servants. It is not a bad development: it is one that began under previous governments, as they would acknowledge. Where the arrangement works well, as it does in the vast majority of cases, it is beneficial both to the Minister and to the Civil Service.

Lord Phillips of Sudbury: My Lords, in a spirit of, I hope, non-partisanship, I ask the Minister to look at the broader context of today's announcement. Whatever we may say in this House, I believe he will agree that the British public is fed up to the back teeth with the manner in which much of the press relations of the present Government—and, indeed, of the previous government—have been conducted. There is a real breakdown of trust between the public, the Government and Whitehall that is damaging politics and democracy.

I fully accept that the press are involved in this state of affairs, as well as the Government, but can the Minister say whether there are any means of having less partisanship and manipulativeness on the part of government press departments, and more frankness and fairness? Unless we manage to introduce a new way to deal with press relations, I believe that the whole of politics will continue seriously to suffer.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: My Lords, it is obvious to all of us that the standing in which politicians are held by the public generally, and right across parties, is not high. We must ask ourselves what form of conversation should politicians have with the electorate in order to seek to increase the standing of politicians. I believe that the standing of politicians with the nation is most important. For example, in my job as Minister responsible for regeneration, I notice that, in some cases, there are now more people voting for members of the boards for New Deal for

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Communities than there are in local authority elections. What does that say about the standing of politicians? Perhaps it indicates that in some cases it is those on the ground who might affect people's lives who are regarded as more important than elected politicians.

Lord Waddington: My Lords, does not the noble and learned Lord find it rather strange that in his Statement the Secretary of State seems to be trying to create the impression that there was no e-mail at all? Is it not agreed that there was an e-mail, albeit to the Secretary of State rather than to Jo Moore, about the subject of whether it was right to make an announcement on the day of Princess Margaret's funeral? Perhaps the noble and learned Lord can tell us why the Secretary of State appears to be dissimulating in this way in an effort to disguise the fact that there was such an e-mail? When Mr Byers announced on 15th February that Mr Sixsmith had resigned, do the Government now accept that no resignation by Mr Sixsmith had been finalised? Will they further accept that there is no earthly reason why Mr Sixsmith should have made a firm commitment to resign at that stage when there was no firm agreement on the terms of his resignation and the amount of compensation to which he is undoubtedly entitled?

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: My Lords, there was an e-mail from Mr Martin Sixsmith to the Secretary of State concerning the events of Friday, and the announcement. In his Statement, the Secretary of State referred to a purported e-mail—

Lord Waddington: That is playing with words!

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: No, my Lords. The Secretary of State set out in detail the words of a purported e-mail published by the Daily Mirror and the Daily Express. They were not the terms of any e-mail sent from Mr Sixsmith to the Secretary of State: it was in different terms. The Statement notes that such an e-mail was sent from Martin Sixsmith to Jo Moore. That is a reference to the e-mail wrongly quoted by the Daily Mirror and the Daily Express. I have set out the circumstances of what happened between Mr Sixsmith and Sir Richard Mottram. Noble Lords must draw their own conclusions in that respect.

Lord Campbell-Savours: My Lords, is not the underlying injustice in this whole affair the fact that a decent, honest and honourable man, Mr Byers, who some of us know very well—someone who is capable and who knows how to take real decisions in his department, as happened once in my former constituency when an important decision was quickly taken by him—has been totally undermined by perhaps two (certainly by one) as yet unidentified officials in his own department whose identity we shall need to know in the end? Further, he has been undermined by unreliable tittle-tattle and a frenzy of irresponsible activity in the national media.

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Lord Falconer of Thoroton: My Lords, it is obviously not professional for someone in the department of Mr Byers to express unfavourable views about him to the newspapers. However, Mr Byers does not seek to defend himself. He simply seeks to say, "Give me the opportunity to get on with the job that I have been given. That is what the British people want me to do".

Lord Butler of Brockwell: My Lords, perhaps I may begin by warmly welcoming the reference in the Statement, and in the Minister's response, to the dedication of the Civil Service in helping the elected Government to carry out their aims. I agree with the noble and learned Lord that the relationship between Ministers, civil servants and special advisers is generally very productive. But when it breaks down, as it clearly has on this occasion—and, indeed, has done sometimes in the past—embarrassment and failure invariably follow.

I return to two questions asked by the noble Lord, Lord McNally, that I do not believe the Minister has answered. First, allegations were made in the Statement about other civil servants. Those allegations should not have been made unless, as a matter of fair process, there has been an inquiry that has established those involved and through which the civil servants have had a chance to reply. Can the Minister tell us whether such an inquiry has taken place and been completed? Secondly, can the Minister answer the point about the preparation of the Government's promised Civil Service Bill, which is awaited?

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: My Lords, the noble Lord is absolutely right to point out that I failed to answer the question put by the noble Lord, Lord McNally. I apologise to the noble Lord, and to the House, for that omission. I quote from the Statement. When talking about a very small number of civil servants in the press office seeking to undermine the department, the Secretary of State said:


    "I should stress that only a very small number were involved and their actions are being investigated".

So an investigation is in progress, but not yet completed.

I turn to the question regarding a Civil Service Act. As the Government have made clear—indeed, I believe that this was made clear when the noble Lord was the Cabinet Secretary—there will be legislation to cover the Civil Service. We have made a commitment in that respect and the legislation will be introduced as soon as legislative time allows. As the noble Lord will know, that is a matter of judging priorities at the time of the Queen's Speech.

Lord Blaker: My Lords, I return to the points made by my noble friends Lord Boardman and Lord Waddington. I rely entirely on the Statement by the Secretary of State and on what the noble and learned Lord has said. There was an agreement to resign, subject to three conditions. Two of those conditions were ones mentioned by my noble friend Lord Waddington. There was no agreement on whether Mr Sixsmith would get another job or whether he

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would receive compensation. Those are two vital points. It is perfectly understandable that the agreement was not complete when Mr Sixsmith left for the hospital. It is, therefore, not surprising that he was astonished when he heard on the radio after leaving hospital the news of his resignation. Could the explanation simply have been that the Secretary of State was in a hurry?

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: My Lords, the explanation as given by Sir Richard Mottram in his statement—again I apologise for repeating myself—is that,


    "At this stage"—

that is, at 3.30,


    "I informed the Secretary of State and the Cabinet Secretary that Mr Sixsmith had agreed to resign".

That is what Sir Richard told Sir Richard Wilson, the Cabinet Secretary, and Mr Stephen Byers, and on that basis the Statement was made. As to whether or not there is in law a resignation, I have set out the facts and noble Lords must draw their own conclusions.

Lord Bridges: My Lords, will the Minister pursue more urgently the possibility of the legislation relating to the Civil Service mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord McNally, and by my noble friend Lord Butler? Is not the truth that the Government have acted to take administrative decisions in the area of the hitherto unwritten constitution? It would seem that we are getting into some difficulties in the absence of any agreed framework of law as opposed to previously agreed unwritten conventions. Would not the Government be wise to bring this matter forward rather more urgently than they have apparently considered hitherto?


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