Day One

  
     My contact with the Civil Service Commissioners begins in October 2007, shortly after I’m informed by my employer Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs that all charges against me are being dropped.
    This is what’s known in certain circles as a whitewash, something government departments are rather fond of when they want some uncomfortable truth buried.
    So what do you think HMRC charged me with?
Setting up bogus tax claims and siphoning of money to hidden bank accounts?
    Loosing Tax discs containing records of million of UK citizens?
    Awarding friends and family large government contracts?
    Err, Not exactly.
    I was charged with holding ‘extreme political views’ for heckling the British National Party at a lawful protest outside work.
   I don’t mean I was engaged in a fist fight, or punch up with these Neo Nazi thugs.
   I mean I was charged simply with being an extremist for heckling them at an anti racist demo outside work.
  Let me spell that out again: The BNP are a Neo Nazi party whose views should have no place in society, and HMRC misused thousands of pounds of tax payers money to charge and convict me of holding extreme political views for heckling them at a peaceful protest outside work.
  True, HMRC have recently admitted they should never have prosecuted the case; they have even gone so far as to acknowledge that heckling the BNP was a sign of moderation not of extremism. But as for the costs in pursuing the case, both before and after I was charged and found guilty, not a word.
  The Tax department seemed somewhat reluctant to discuss their own financial affairs.
  That said, contacting the Civil Service Commissioners was one thing, getting them to show even a glimmer of interest was quite another.
  I have always thought that government watch dogs are a pretty incompetent bunch, good at appearing before Parliamentary Committees, television cameras and writing reports, but not much else, so I wasn’t exactly blistering with confidence they would swing in to action to investigate my complaints. Sure enough, I was right.
  The Office of the Civil Service Commissioners is entirely funded and paid for at tax payer‘s expense, and they have an army of Civil Servants to run around and do any physical work for them. Nothing happens without these people knowing about it. Indeed, the latter are so important they often decide which complaints should be investigated: The Civil Service Commissioners state in their report ‘A GUIDE TO BRINGING A COMPLAINT TO THE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION that any “investigation of a complaint will be fair and objective and governed by an independent, honest, confidential and impartial approach.” I think you should take that with a pinch of salt.
   Furthermore, the Commissioners also state: The Civil Service Code is clear that you should not suffer a detriment as a consequence of raising a concern: ‘If you believe that you are being required to act in a way which conflicts with this Code, your department or agency must consider your concern, and make sure that you are not penalised for raising it.’ (para. 15). The Commission believes that departments should encourage their staff to raise concerns and should actively support them in doing so. We will take very seriously any suggestion that you have been penalised for raising a concern. We would want you to approach us at any time if you believe this is the case. We would be prepared to use all the remedies available to us to prevent and rectify any penalisation.”
I think you should take that with a pinch of salt too.