DEAR Nigel, I am writing to ask whether a Reform government led by you would launch an investigation into the appointment of the new head of the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6.
A report in the Financial Times last weekend revealed that SIS will get its first female head because the final two candidates from a shortlist of four are women. The FT said:
‘The final pair in the running for a job traditionally known as “C” are Barbara Woodward, at present the UK’s permanent representative to the UN and former ambassador to China, and a female candidate from inside M16.
‘The final decision will be made by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and foreign secretary David Lammy following a round of “fireside chats” with the candidates, Whitehall officials said. Jonathan Powell, Starmer’s national security adviser, is also expected to have input. The process has been run by the Cabinet Office under Pat McFadden, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.’
The paper also reported that the current head of MI6, Sir Richard Moore, who steps down after a five-year term, ‘has been an advocate of greater diversity in the appointments process and has previously pledged that he would be the last “C” to be selected from an all-male shortlist’.
If the two female frontrunners for the head of MI6 are the best candidates on merit, then the right person will have got the job. However, the Labour government’s track record on placing its neo-Marxist agenda above the public interest unfortunately gives rise to legitimate concerns that ministers and officials are being ideologically motivated in the MI6 appointment process. Does not a final all-female run-off prompt suspicions that the government is determined to appoint a woman as the first head of the SIS in its 100-year history?
Is it not vitally important that those who serve in the SIS should have full confidence that their head has been chosen on merit? British taxpayers also need to have full confidence in the process, do they not?
Related to this issue, you and I have corresponded about what can be done legislatively to prevent Left-wing activists, particularly in the public sector, from inciting the police to use badly drafted laws against ‘harassment’ and ‘malicious communications’ to bully and silence people whom they find inconvenient or annoying.
The arrest by Hertfordshire Police last January of a couple who had been reported by their daughter’s school for criticising its leadership in a WhatsApp group is a particularly egregious example. I look forward to hearing back from Reform HQ on what ideas the party has to reform and if necessary repeal legislation that has given rise to such treatment of the law-abiding public.
In a more recent and on the face of it comical case, the Diocese of Chester reported parishioners in Malpas to Cheshire Police for harassment over a row with their Rector. The Whitchurch Herald reported on May 20: ‘The Parochial Church Council (PCC) at St Oswald’s issued a vote of no confidence in Reverend Arnott in 2022, and things boiled over again this month in a row over bellringers’ access to the bell tower.
‘Leaflets were then distributed around the local village and further afield. The Diocese said notices were stuck “to the Cathedral using permanent glue” on Easter Sunday and claimed leaflets were also distributed on cars and in the church porch in Knutsford.’
The paper quoted the Diocese: ‘The police and other authorities are now involved due to the nature and content of these activities.’
Instead of telling the Diocese of Chester that officers had more important things to do such as dealing with violent crime, the scourge of drug abuse and burglary, a police spokesperson asked anyone with information about the case to contact them. ‘We can confirm that we have received reports of harassment related to the Church in Malpas,’ Cheshire Police said.
What can be done to stop ‘woke’ organisations such as the Church of England using the police in this way?
This issue and the questions over the M16 appointment are related because Left-wing ideology in the British establishment is stifling freedom of expression, particularly for orthodox Christians, and public service founded on good character, hard work and ability.
Is not the devil often in the legislative detail? May I express the hope that a Reform government would work closely with the Free Speech Union to frame well-drafted, enforceable legislation to tackle the threats to British liberty from badly-worded laws that Left-wing activists are exploiting? May I also express the hope that a government led by you would work to undo the damage caused by ideologically-driven appointments to key roles in the nation’s governance and security?
