Letter: Civil servants should not become political scapegoats

Sir: So you want senior civil servants' jobs to be on the line when the policies of their departments go wrong (leading article, 11 March). Fine; but surely natural justice demands that they should be allowed to respond to criticism, even (dare one suggest) by explaining that they advised ministers against the policies criticised?

Think about it. While doing so, spare a thought for the permanent secretary who would rather like to have a non-automatic knighthood, and therefore holds back from offering the unpopular advice to ministers that has been the hallmark of an adviser worth his salt until now. If, as the Prime Minister has asserted, the award of automatic knighthoods to High Court judges secures their independence, where is the difference?

Yours faithfully,

IVOR LIGHTMAN

Lisvane, Cardiff