Civil servants at the UK’s Cabinet Office were told to check potential guest speakers’ social media accounts before inviting them, it emerged on Sunday.
According to the Financial Times, government efficiency minister Jacob Rees-Mogg set out new rules on the vetting of guests who take part in “learning and development events” that include combing through the guests’ social media posts in the past three to five years to look for “potentially problematic or controversial material that may contravene civil service values.”
Managers were told to be mindful of “criticism of government officials or policy,” comments showing “a strong political partiality,” or anything that risks bringing the civil service into disrepute, according to the report….