Letter to Gordon Brown, 7th September 2008
Dear Mr Brown
We have long been trying to interest parliamentarians as to the HM Revenues incompetent often fraudulent, sometimes corrupt acts against us. How, after some 5 years of struggle against the Revenues complaint procedures, I eventually faced public sector barristers and lawyers protecting these civil servants hiding away their corrupt acts. It was like a millstone around my neck, our crime? We had complained about governmental complaint procedures?
The nation suffers from having more than its fair share of bungling dishonest civil servants. The historic protection of these miscreants by ombudsman is an abomination to the electorate and the more honest public sector staff.
One cannot be sure as to the numbers of incompetent bunglers and pilferers, because there is an entrenched cover up culture within the public sector that is successful in continually playing down bungling and fraudulent activities while at the same time riding roughshod over its critics!
We need a new Ministry, one that will ensure 'open courts' giving honest investigation on behalf of the electorate who have suffered from many corrupt acts by civil servants over a great number of years. Scrap the largely protective 'old pals' ombudsman system that ensures buckets full of continuing deceit.
Governments cannot operate efficiently when public sector staff purposely cover-up continued calamities such as lost data and ever rising theft from governments departments. For over a year Jack Straw was purposely kept in the dark about the latest MOJ data fiasco. It's all about the public sectors self- protective cover-up culture and its incorrigible instinct to deceive!
Ministers cannot continue with the 'blind eye' treatment towards miscreants - its time for a clean up - time for change! The overloaded public sector cover up culture is costing the electorate and taxpayers untold billions. There is also the fact that such a freewheeling deceitful culture is ruinous to the nation!
However, instead of public servants coming under close scrutiny, the political tables have been purposely overturned! Civil servants are snooping on the electorate! The democratic power of the electorate is being undermined; they look like becoming permanent victims of a George Orwell style snooper society.
Yet it becomes more apparent everyday that it's Whitehall and local authority staff who are in dire need of cleansing; it is they who are in need of the snooper treatment, because financing the freewheeling incompetence and fraudulence within the public sector is putting an enormous strain on the public purse.
We have to suffer the twin tower abomination of the public sectors 'sick note' culture costing the taxpayer untold £billions yearly, along with its outrageously costly gold plated pension schemes with early retirement! Both these civil service abominations; sick note culture and pensions are deemed to be fraudulent.
Meanwhile the electorates pension possibilities are now seriously diminished!
Mr Blunket however, recently gave an indication at a 'Care' charity that 'the electorate should work even longer' - presumable until they drop?
The respected Centre for Economics and Business Research claims that 'State jobs attract the least qualified'. This finding suggests that while taxpayer spending on the public sector has risen fast, the quality of many state employees is falling.
In 2007/8 £29billion of pension promises were made to the public sector - payable of course by the taxpayer - the electorate?
The Institute of Economic affairs has warned that the liabilities - re public sector pensions - will soar in the coming years to between £1.100b and £1.200billion.
There are always more government financial abominations! For instance the controversial Private Finance Initiative is turning out to be another public sector flop because of the usual pathetic lack of know-how management and lack of accountability by officials. Building firms are taking the PFI to the cleaners! With untold millions being unaccountably squandered on 'alterations to projects', it's an ideal set-up for the 'blind eye' treatment. Where lack of managerial skills within the PFI has meant that private firms are grossly overcharging for even minor jobs. This of course is small beer compared to the unjustified £6million a year administrative fees?
We are somewhat mystified how the 'I' in PFI stood for 'initiative' its not a word one associates with government spending or civil service management!
The European Union has warned the government about its financial recklessness. The continuous financial toadying up to 'unfit for purpose' departments with unearned bonuses is throwing enormous amounts of the public's money down the Whitehall sewers.
Many government projects cannot get off the ground because of general lack of know-how intertwined with sheer incompetence - when such failures occur millions more are poured in, with the imbecile expectancy that the projects will then succeed.
No one takes note at the lack of know-how and lack of accountability by managers appointed to run such projects.
Lack of public sector accountability gives rise to thousands of laptops etc being stolen across the board; staff seem to be unaccountably untouchable! Too many managers within government departments are incapable of combating incompetence, loss of data, corruption or theft etc within their departments.
Whoever is responsible for the collapse of Standards within the public sector? We have long protested that the 'old pals act' etc preserves too many miscreants, allowing a dung heap reserve army of severe incompetents to run the nation into the ground.
Because of the continued silence by the MOJ and your good self in relation to the corrupt acts against us; we feel you might not believe that nasty civil servants exist! Many cases like ours show that public sector corruption is causing plague like demolition of the democratic process. Something of public concern! So we feel it worthwhile, that Ministers be made aware of civil service chicanery that badly effects the electorate and often demeans the whole nation.
We point out some entrenched perversions of duty as acted out by civil servants: Civil servants in a government dept had been caught downloading 2million pages of porn - among them 18000 images of child porn! This tale alone gives an indication as to the entrenched 'inner squalor' that exists within government departments. This story tells us much about historic dereliction of duty by management and staff, indicating a corruption of work ethic and the severe lack of accountability as seen in most 'unfit for purpose' offices today!
The bungling Revenues lost data fiasco is said to have cost some £2.5million in sending out letters of apology to people affected by the lost data.The Revenue apologies that were sent out also contained even more serious errors concerning data? The quintessential Revenue stories are (1) from one complainant who said "I've also received 7 other apology letters that should have been sent to other members of the public in the same predicament! Iv`e got all their National Insurance Numbers, their Child Benefit Ref. Numbers and names and addresses? It seems the costly apology letters were further breeches of security - so many letters containing personal/private information were being sent to wrong addresses?
(2) A woman with children returned a cheque to the Inland Revenue because she felt she had not been underpaid - the Revenue insisting it was due and paid it a second time- she again returned it. The Revenue sent it back insisting it was hers and paid it a third time. Some months later the Revenue informed her she had been overpaid?
These are not new stories; they are however indicative of the Revenues continued culture of institutionalised "couldn't care less" incompetence.
Despite these long- term cancerous calamities, there seems to be no improvement; the latest information (Aug 08) claims that "There are numerous security breaches every day at the Revenue; this despite promises to 'tighten up'.
Such tragic bungling does not raise an eyebrow within the Revenue. Scandals from the dysfunctional Revenue, the Home Office and MOD etc, show the electorate just how corrupt the running of government has become.
It appears the Rural Payments Agency in Newcastle were more into partying than doing their job paying out to distressed farmers. Thousands of farmers endured hardship. The delays were blamed for the suicide of farmers unduly forced to wait months for much needed financial help.
The reason for the delays can be pin-pointed to RPA staff neglecting their duty, playing office pranks, one swinging around naked; teacups full of vomit were left in tea-rooms. Marijuana was smoked on duty and excrement was said to have been smeared on walls. These are the actions of systematic 'couldn't give a damn' public sector staff. Edward Leigh chairman of the parliamentary PAC made a scathing attack on the Rural Payments Agency.
The naked civil servant took the usual protective public sector 'get out of jail sick leave' - only available to civil servants? His mother was said to have been his boss? Such 'inner squalor' is palpable! Anyone for the 'Lessons will be Learned' cha-cha?
Headlines claimed that 'Corruption rife amongst officials at Immigration' where staff faced 800 odd allegations. The 'sex for visas' accusations, was rejected by a typical Home Office 'internal investigation'? Such 'slap on wrist' internal investigations should be abolished! (We ourselves know how crooked public sector internal investigations can be) We found that such unprofessional protection of miscreants is self-destructive to the department involved, it encourages ever more deceit. However, despite the cleansing "internal investigation" the scale of corruption within the HO is now worse than ever?
It was admitted that the Immigration & Nationality Directorate were not strong enough or fit enough for the challenges of the future?
Handing out visas to live in Britain is surely a job worthy only of the most upright?
The HM Revenues fraudulent complaint procedure hides its fraudulent acts behind its legal department's well-honed deceitful cover-up skills. I faced barristers and lawyers representing HMRC and the ICO. I was a lone war pensioner - who became a sitting duck - blown away by corrupt civil service sharp shooting lawyers, who swept away the corrupt acts against us. Everyone taking part in our Tribunal seemed unconcerned about this lack of justice for a victim of civil servants - the 'old pals act' in full throttle!
We have long pointed out the fact that such parliamentary/Whitehall acquiescence to corrupt acts by civil servants only increases the abysmal status quo, allowing the growth of even more decrepit acts against the electorate.
Because of the continuing decline in public sector ethics, this has allowed a moral collapse, where the wholesale theft from government departments is ever increasing. That such abominations by public sector pilferers are indicative of a large section of protected undesirables within government. This allowed long term abuse by the public sector becomes even more sickening when such public sector incompetence, fraudulence and chicanery is often rewarded with enormous financial bonuses
Because of the corruption in our case, we looked to the Ministry of Justice where one was entitled to hope for a more honest set-up, but the MOJ seems to have more than its fair share of light fingered Fagin types pilfering government property? There is evidence of MOJ staff operating its own cover-up culture, hiding errors from the Minister, the Rt. Hon. Jack Straw?
At the last count, some 170 laptops and some 170 mobile phones etc was said to have been 'lost or stolen' within the MoJ? "Lost or Stolen?
The man in the street, by now having a strong grasp as to the civil service's numerous devious activities, will no doubt come up with the more seasoned reasoning that the MoJ laptops etc have largely been nicked - not lost!
How is it that this 'Fagin style community' is at the centre of our justice system? How is it that the modern Fagin and his 'artful dodger friends' are having no problems in picking up a MOJ laptop or two?
It becomes bewildering that despite the government's heavy financial bonuses to public sector staff, thieving of government property is ever increasing. Do we make a point of employing undesirables? Is there no system of checks for accountability or honesty, or is that now thought to be politically incorrect?
We have already claimed that the crooked Inland Revenue/VOA were not fit enough to hold court in regard our case! The litany of incompetence, fraudulent and corrupt acts by the Revenue make them the most unlikely officials to be considered capable of treating its critics in a judicious manner.
We now have to ask what's the internal situation within the MOJ? They do not respond to our claims for 'open courts' that would help keep victims free from public sector complaint procedure chicanery. Open courts, one hopes, would enable victims of government depts to question devious civil servants! Because of public sector skulduggery we ask; is Jack Straw receiving our critical mail?
When it comes to being 'unfit for purpose' one cannot leave out the MOD, its staff doing its best to get to the top of the League Table showing the most incompetent dishonest self-seeking government department.
We can't wait for the League Table showing whose nicking the most laptops? Or the table showing whose losing the most secret documents? Such League Tables will be invaluable to the electorate! A vote winner if I ever saw one!
The latest 'lost' laptop figure for the MOD, as at August 2008 were 994!
However, it becomes abhorrent that such ridiculously inept, negligent managerial systems exist within many of our government departments, where thefts of laptops alone, many containing secrets, come to well over 3200!
This range of theft, fraud, corruption and continuing loss of secret data is alarming, yet too often miscreants are often defended to the hilt by deceitful management and ombudsman, who are ever reliant on their deceitful cover-up routine continuously claiming that 'Lesson will be learned'!
We need open courts that will hopefully help 'kill off' historic protectionism! We repeat, despite numerous investigations by academics the most appropriate remark comes from one who suggests numerous accountability arrangements be made to keep a check on the ever-present bad management and malfunctioning offices; he suggest that stringent measures be imposed to 'keep the bastards honest'! It's about time Whitehall and politicians told it as it is.
As a former front-line soldier I feel let down, I see that much of the democracy many died for is being abused fraudulently handled by civil servants!
Yours sincerely
AW & I Tanner cc MPs MOJ MOD Committees, media, all interested in public sector corruption!