The Two Chairmen pub in Westminster is a favourite watering hole for civil servants. This week it was a fitting place for an after-work gossip about the controversies engulfing the “two chairmen” – the Conservative Party’s Nadhim Zahawi and the BBC’s Richard Sharp.
However, the saga has raised uncomfortable questions for the civil service, as well as for politicians and the BBC. Did Whitehall officials do enough to warn Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak about the HMRC inquiry into Zahawi’s finances? Why did Simon Case, a great survivor whose days as cabinet secretary finally seem to be numbered, help Johnson secure an £800,000 loan facility while prime minister? And why did Case apparently not ensure that Sharp’s role as a go-between in this arrangement was declared when he applied successfully for the position of BBC chair?
Characteristically, some politicians are preparing to blame civil servants for not making sure the rules were upheld in both affairs. But Whitehall officials argue they are in an impossible position. Some think the Zahawi and BBC controversies highlight a very real problem: civil servants are now reluctant to warn ministers they may be breaking the rules because they fear their objections will be dismissed (as they sometimes were by Johnson), and because speaking truth to power could harm their careers.
