Laura Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Lisa Greenwood, an office administrator at the Department of Children, Schools and Families, posted an anonymous message on the internet at the height of the furore over abuse of the second home allowances. It was traced to her work email account and the 38-year-old was initially suspended before being fired from her £16,000 post. Miss Greenwood, from Widnes in Cheshire, had been angered by Miss Blears's ability to avoid paying capital gains tax on the sale of her designated second home. Miss Blears wrote out a cheque for more than £13,000 to cover capital gains tax - claiming she had done nothing wrong - before resigning from her job as communities minister on the eve of the crucial local and European elections in June. She subsequently apologised for her timing of her resignation, saying it was "stupid, thoughtless and cruel", then survived a vote of no confidence by her local party in Salford. On May 13, Miss Greenwood wrote on the internet of Miss Blears: "How dare you wave a cheque about on national TV, saying that you are sorry. "You are only sorry that you have been caught. You are a disgrace (including all the other honourable members). Why haven't you been sacked?" The anonymous posting appeared on They Work For You, a political website, but was traced to Miss Greenwood's work email account. The administrator, who had worked for the DCFS for seven months, was brought before a disciplinary panel and fired on May 22. "A written warning I could understand, but I was shocked to be sacked," she said. "It has been extremely upsetting that I have been sacked for having an opinion. "When the expenses scandal broke we had all been discussing it at work, despite the civil service code. "It was just the same in writing that everyone else had been saying at work and discussing openly in the office." A DCFS spokesman said Miss Greenwood had been found guilty of gross misconduct and had brought the Government department into disrepute. "The civil service has a clear code of conduct for its employees, which states that civil servants should be politically impartial and not act in a way that could damage the reputation of their department." LINK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bomberbrown Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 On the plus side, at least she wasn't found dead in the woods or at the bottom of a hill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest eight Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 The anonymous posting appeared on They Work For You, a political website, but was traced to Miss Greenwood's work email account. I can't work out if I should be bemused, worried or terrified by this. On reflection, probably the latter. eight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrentyieldmakessense(honest!) Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 "A written warning I could understand, but I was shocked to be sacked," she said.A DCFS spokesman said Miss Greenwood had been found guilty of gross misconduct and had brought the Government department into disrepute. "The civil service has a clear code of conduct for its employees, which states that civil servants should be politically impartial and not act in a way that could damage the reputation of their department." think there are many others who need sacking first still suppose sacked is better than being shot page 18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PunK BeaR Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 She should have known that you are not allowed to have free thought or speak your mind when working for the govt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest eight Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 She should have known that you are not allowed to have free thought or speak your mind when working for the govt. I'm surprised we allow them the vote. eight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahBell Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Doesn't politically impartial mean it would have been ok if she'd have slated a conservative too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikhail Liebenstein Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 What I don't get is why and indeed how this was traced. I don't believe the comment as reported would have justified an investigation and I'd be worried if I thought every comment on website was tracked and traced - indeed sales of hill walking gear would be huge amongst members of HPC. I am fairly sure the Government are not so paranoid as to track every web entry, so chances are something is missing from this story. Perhaps the lady concerned was already being monitored or perhaps she blagged about making the post. But something doesn't quite add up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sceptacled Bear Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 One wonders who is being employed to trace civil servants who are posting their views and why exactly...and how many of them there are. 'Civil Service Code' eh? Pretty much reflects the current attitude across all the public services. Scary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corevalue Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 As civil servants are now no longer allowed to have a contrary political opinion, I suggest they should not be allowed to vote. She was foolish to write the email from her work account, and perhaps she was wasting a lot of her employers time on the net, and that was the real reason for her dismissal. An alternative possibility, is that if you make a derogatory comment about the government, your email will be traced and whatever action possible taken (dismissal, a walk in the woods.....) Edit: clarification Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milton Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 I dont understand this. Surely if she were to take them to an emplyment tribunal, the Civil Service would not stand a chance in h3ll? Also, Ive sent the Labour party very very blunt [swearing offensive] Emails, telling them exactly what I think of them. Which make hers look like an nice invitation to tea. I consider this to be doing the incompotent, useless, F***** B***** S***bags a favour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
interestrateripoff Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Free thought is not allowed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_austrian Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 "How dare you wave a cheque about on national TV, saying that you are sorry. "You are only sorry that you have been caught. You are a disgrace (including all the other honourable members). Why haven't you been sacked?" It is also disgraceful to "earn" a living based on violence when it is perfectly possible to provide for yourself peacefully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AuntJess Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 double post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AuntJess Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Lisa Greenwood, an office administrator at the Department of Children, Schools and Families, posted an anonymous message on the internet at the height of the furore over abuse of the second home allowances.It was traced to her work email account and the 38-year-old was initially suspended before being fired from her £16,000 post. Miss Greenwood, from Widnes in Cheshire, had been angered by Miss Blears's ability to avoid paying capital gains tax on the sale of her designated second home. Miss Blears wrote out a cheque for more than £13,000 to cover capital gains tax - claiming she had done nothing wrong - before resigning from her job as communities minister on the eve of the crucial local and European elections in June. She subsequently apologised for her timing of her resignation, saying it was "stupid, thoughtless and cruel", then survived a vote of no confidence by her local party in Salford. On May 13, Miss Greenwood wrote on the internet of Miss Blears: "How dare you wave a cheque about on national TV, saying that you are sorry. "You are only sorry that you have been caught. You are a disgrace (including all the other honourable members). Why haven't you been sacked?" The anonymous posting appeared on They Work For You, a political website, but was traced to Miss Greenwood's work email account. The administrator, who had worked for the DCFS for seven months, was brought before a disciplinary panel and fired on May 22. "A written warning I could understand, but I was shocked to be sacked," she said. "It has been extremely upsetting that I have been sacked for having an opinion. "When the expenses scandal broke we had all been discussing it at work, despite the civil service code. "It was just the same in writing that everyone else had been saying at work and discussing openly in the office." A DCFS spokesman said Miss Greenwood had been found guilty of gross misconduct and had brought the Government department into disrepute. "The civil service has a clear code of conduct for its employees, which states that civil servants should be politically impartial and not act in a way that could damage the reputation of their department." LINK The mask slips and we now see how very un-liberal this govt. is. Can they get ANYthing right? How we loved to hear those words once spoken " Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime" Since then, violent crime has escalated, but white collar workers get sacked for expressing an opinion - to other than their boss - and OAPs get jailed for under paying the full-amount of CC, and a war veteran gets hauled from his seat and chucked out by heavies, for saying one word " Rubbish". Welcome to topsy-turvy Britain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AuntJess Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 triple post :angry: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbga9pgf Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 What I don't get is why and indeed how this was traced. I don't believe the comment as reported would have justified an investigation and I'd be worried if I thought every comment on website was tracked and traced - indeed sales of hill walking gear would be huge amongst members of HPC. I am fairly sure the Government are not so paranoid as to track every web entry, so chances are something is missing from this story. Perhaps the lady concerned was already being monitored or perhaps she blagged about making the post. But something doesn't quite add up. She probably made the comment at work, thus would have been easy to track. Draconian in the extreme... how can someone making an anonymous comment on a website get hit with the civil service 'political impartiality' clause? Surely, if she had announced who she was with her opinion, fair game, but to my knowledge she didnt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Posted July 6, 2009 Author Share Posted July 6, 2009 triple post :angry: Education, education, education? sorry Miss, only teasing; honest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cogs Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 She probably made the comment at work, thus would have been easy to track.Draconian in the extreme... how can someone making an anonymous comment on a website get hit with the civil service 'political impartiality' clause? Surely, if she had announced who she was with her opinion, fair game, but to my knowledge she didnt? They don't have a sense of humour about the issue at all. Its an absolute and inflexible rule that permits no grey areas. So while I agree with you it is a bit extreme, the women in the story should have known that she was subject to rather draconian rules, if you see what I mean. Its in the citizenship exam for example, if we expect Iraqis or whoever to know the Civil Service never comment on political matters I think we can expect a Civil Servant to have heard that too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbga9pgf Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 They don't have a sense of humour about the issue at all.Its an absolute and inflexible rule that permits no grey areas. So while I agree with you it is a bit extreme, the women in the story should have known that she was subject to rather draconian rules, if you see what I mean. Its in the citizenship exam for example, if we expect Iraqis or whoever to know the Civil Service never comment on political matters I think we can expect a Civil Servant to have heard that too. Buit to my knowledge, she never identified herself as a civil servant! If she had said, "i am a public servant and this is my opinion" fair enough. But she didnt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PopGun Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Thought crime, thought police, thought punishment..... When will this end? :angry: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cogs Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Buit to my knowledge, she never identified herself as a civil servant!If she had said, "i am a public servant and this is my opinion" fair enough. But she didnt. The civil service don't comment. Absolute. Inflexible. See what I mean? I don't like that but then thats one of the reasons I'm not a civil servant. ---> http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/ne...icle3522316.ece ---> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-45...ng-blogger.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
contractor Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Lisa Greenwood, an office administrator at the Department of Children, Schools and Families, posted an anonymous message on the internet at the height of the furore over abuse of the second home allowances.It was traced to her work email account and the 38-year-old was initially suspended before being fired from her £16,000 post. work computer/email and "anonymous" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Spart Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Aren't Civil Servants entitled to free speech outside their jobs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal Volio Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 I agree with Mike - this doesn't add up Unless she did something to draw attention to this, I can't see how it would have been picked up on. I don't believe that the mainstream civil services has the resources to monitor every internet site and determine the IP address of every comment posted and then track that back to an individual computer. Even if they did, I doubt she'd be fired (unless, I suppose, they wanted rid and she gave them an excuse) Now, if she posted a .gov email address on the site, then that's a different thing. That's kind of like writing on Dept of Whatever headed notepaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.