THE Cabinet Office has been forced to deny accusations that experts who meet with civil servants are now being politically vetted, as unions and scientists issued fresh warnings over the spread of Covid-19’s omicron variant.

According to a report published in the Telegraph last Saturday, an “official-sensitive” memo has been circulated in Whitehall, warning that invitations to internal events should not be issued to those who have “spoken against key government policies.”

The Cabinet Office said that “an increased due diligence process for guest speakers” had recently been adopted “in line with cross-government best practice,” and that the policy was completely separate to official government meetings in which ministers and departments seek advice on policy.