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Tensions between politicians and the Civil Service 'Blob' were threatening to turn into all-out war last night after Home Secretary Priti Patel denounced her own officials as 'not fit for purpose' – as recriminations grew over the chaotic race to become chairman of media regulator Ofcom.
Ms Patel used the same words attributed to Labour Home Secretary John Reid in 2006 as an 'exasperated' Boris Johnson ordered a Whitehall review into the migrant crisis, which has triggered a blame game in the Home Office.
Sources said Ms Patel has become so frustrated by the obstructions of officials and legal advisers that she has considered writing to Cabinet Secretary Simon Case to list her department's failings. Angry civil servants responded by describing the Cabinet Minister as 'moronic'.
No 10 was left scrambling to find a new candidate for the Ofcom job after the withdrawal of Paul Dacre, the former Daily Mail editor, who described his experience as an 'infelicitous dalliance with the Blob', claiming officials were determined to block Right-of-centre candidates. Mr Johnson restarted the appointment after he was vetoed by the interview panel, but Mr Dacre lost patience with the hostility of the Whitehall establishment and will instead take up 'an exciting new job in the private sector'.
Tensions between politicians and the Civil Service 'Blob' were threatening to turn into all-out war last night after Home Secretary Priti Patel denounced her own officials as 'not fit for purpose'
Last night a senior Government source said that the rows were likely to increase calls for a root-and-branch shake-up of the Civil Service. They coincide with frustration in the Cabinet about the 'oppositionist' attitudes of
