Tory plan to ‘politicise’ Whitehall after Raab, as Sunak accused of betrayal

Review to recommend ministers appoint their own officials – as Raab hits out at ‘activist’ civil servants

A Tory peer who is leading a government review into how the civil service operates has called for a greater “politicisation” of Whitehall through allowing ministers more power to appoint their own officials.

Francis Maude said the system needs to be less “mealy-mouthed about ‘politicisation’” in the wake of Dominic Raab’s resignation and the claims made by Mr Raab that civil service “activists” had been working against him.

It comes as Rishi Sunak was accused by Tory MPs of betrayal over the Raab scandal, with one complaining that the PM “definitely doesn’t have anyone’s back”.