The Civil Service is under fierce attack for its inefficiency, its excessive power, its unacceptable privileges, and for the bad advice it has given successive governments over many years.
Hugo Young presents a major six-part series which examines these charges at a turning point for the reputation of government in this country, and asks who really runs Britain - the elected Government at Westminster, or the secret government in Whitehall. For this series, many civil servants spoke publicly on this central question. 1: The Civil Service is too Powerful with, among others,
Sir Ian Bancroft , Head of the Home Civil Service;
Sir Brian Cubbon , Permanent
Secretary at the Home Office; Sir Brian Hayes , Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture; The Rt Hon Tony Benn , mp; The Rt Hon Denis Healey , mp; The Rt Hon Michael Heseltine , mp; and The Rt Hon James Callaghan , mp.
Producer ANNE SLOMAN