Civil servants who are members of extremist groups such as the BNP will face the sack if they “bring their politics to work” and refuse to promote ethnic diversity under a revised code of conduct, The Times has learnt.
Senior officials at the Cabinet Office are now urgently drafting an amendment to the Civil Service code of conduct following the election of Nick Griffin and Andrew Brons to the European Parliament.
The amendment, which will be attached to the code and sent to all heads of department, will make clear that all civil servants will have to be fair, politically impartial and against discrimination.
They will also have to agree to promote ethnic minority groups. Anyone who breaches the new code, which is enshrined in terms and conditions of service, will be disciplined and possibly dismissed.
However the Government has refused to back calls for a blanket ban on allowing BNP members to join the civil service although the Public and Commercial Services Union passed a motion at its conference this year to ban BNP membership across Government departments. BNP members are already banned from the police and prison services.
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In a separate development, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has written to its office in Brussels as well as embassies worldwide to reiterate that officials should give MEPs from extremist organisations only “factual information in writing” and not liaise with them in any other way.
Officials already have to ask permission from the Permanent Secretary at the FCO or the Minister for Europe if they wish to meet an MEP from the BNP or speak to them by phone.