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Truss claims Civil Service is beset by ‘creeping antisemitism’ and ‘woke culture’

Unions slam the Foreign Secretary's ‘insulting and abhorrent’ comments

TORY leadership hopeful Liz Truss’s claim that the Civil Service is beset with “creeping anti-semitism and woke culture” are “insulting and abhorrent,” unions charged today.

The Foreign Secretary, who is vying with former chancellor Rishi Sunak to become Britain’s next prime minister, set out a plan to “protect British Jewry” from the supposed threat today, without giving any evidence or examples.   

The attack is thought to be a reference to councils that participate in the boycott, divestment, sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine via their pension funds, although this clearly relates to local government rather than the Civil Service.

She said: “Every organisation has its culture, but it’s not fixed, it can be changed.

“That’s what ministerial leadership is about – it’s about making sure that the policies we represent, the values we stand for, are reflected in what we do.”

The MP for South West Norfolk, who is widely considered the frontrunner in the race to replace Boris Johnson in Downing Street next month, also questioned whether schools are doing enough to educate pupils and teachers about anti-semitism and claimed she would eradicate anti-Jewish hatred on university campuses. 

However, Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA union, which represents senior civil and public servants, branded Ms Truss’s comments “dog-whistle politics.”

He said: “The Conservatives have been in government for more than 12 years now and, for most of that time, Liz Truss has been a minister, so accusations of ‘civil service wokeism’ are a little ironic, given it’s essentially a criticism of their own leadership.

“A prime minister is also minister for the Civil Service and throwing around such unfounded inflammatory accusations illustrates a lack of leadership, the very thing that she claims to be demonstrating.”

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