Sunday, March 09, 2008

Civil Servant Blogger to be Hunted Down

The Times reveals this morning that the hunt is on within government to discover the identity of the blogger Civil Serf, someone who clearly works at the heart of government. Her blog at www.civilserf.blog.co.uk seems to have been taken down this morning. She's clearly feeling the heat and is worried about being discovered. Whoever she is, her blog has become require reading for many of us. Let's hope she relaunches it soon.

24 comments:

Old BE said...

Sounds rather like The Party does not like The Truth very much.

Anonymous said...

Most employers take a dim view of maverick exhibitions within their ranks. Just because you work in an organisation it doesn't follow that you know very much about it. You only have to overhear a few ranting conversations in staff restaurants or canteens to understand that.

It's rather like people who advance an argument with "I've been to America so I know they're all creeps"...

Anonymous said...

Shame...Its always interesting to hear what happens on the inside.

Curbishly said...

Has the blog been taken down I cannot access the link? Shame if so.

Anonymous said...

I bet they find her before Osama bin Laden.

What ever did happen to the hunt for him by the way?

asquith said...

Right, and no one in the private sector has ever been disciplined or dismissed for blogging about his/her job? Get a grip and stop pandering to the Daily Hate Mail crowd.

Anonymous said...

glad to be free said... @1:04

'Most employers take a dim view of maverick exhibitions within their ranks.'

As a taxpayer and therefore one of her employers I was very glad she spoke out.

Yak40 said...

To be found in the woods ?

Man in a Shed said...

She's good - I hope she survives, though Labour hate evidence of their failure and happily crucify messengers.

dizzy said...

A real shame I think, I first posted about Civil Serf back in the beginning of February. I think Iain I even may have said to you at the time that she could become the next book blogger.

Anonymous said...

Iain - What is the point of bringing this woman to our attention AFTER her blog has been taken down !? I love you to bits Iain, but this must really take this week's 'Chocolate Teapot' award !

Anonymous said...

Her blog was still there at 10am - when I last read it, so I guess her situation dawned on her. Reading the posts, there was plenty of information on their that could be used to identify her.

However, I expect the investigators already have copies of the posts the tracker dogs are out...

John M Ward said...

I shall miss this -- it was an interesting comment on the current state-of-play in the corridors of power. It was far from perfect in my day, but nothing like the way it is now!

Meanwhile, the question of the other hunt -- for Osama bin Laden -- might be answered by the video in my article HERE, in which Benazir Bhutto indicated that he had been killed. This would be a good reason for not continuing the hunt for him, and concentrating efforts in other directions.

Anonymous said...

I managed to read it this morning and it looked interesting, and I'm sure she got lot's of hits because of the story.
Oh, well, it was always at her own risk!

Johnny Norfolk said...

She must feel as people did in Eastern Europe before the wall came down. She is perhaps concerned that the british stazi will find her.
What have we become were people are frighted to speak the truth.

We should know what goes on in government and the civil service.

Anonymous said...

Johnny Norfolk - people have feared to speak the truth since Tony Blair won an election and Alastair Campbell got into power.

It has now been 11 years of grinding thought control.

Anonymous said...

You wait for it to be taken down and then you tell us about it. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

The first civil servant blogger to be sacked was in Wales, however, no one knows his/her name.

Alex said...

Iain, I hope you can help her find a publishing deal.

Anonymous said...

Come on Ian - why didn't you tell us about her before - You're my first call each morning (with GF naturally) before I open the papers even - without you and your fellow bloggers we'd be living in fairyland still!

Iain Dale said...

Er, I did. She featured in a couple of Daley Dozens.

Anonymous said...

Some people are ‘conned’ into believing that they can do what they like.

They read the newspapers and believe the rubbish retailed therein about “The Human Rights Act“ and think that will protect them. They do not understand that the courts will never override a written confidentiality clause, unless the breach is a clear case of “whistle blowing”. They also believe the ludicrous lies about a “compensation culture”. Try getting compensation from any government department, t for their mistakes, if you don‘t believe that “the compensation culture” is a myth.

They also fail to understand that publishing on the internet is not a secret activity. Result, in this case, a sacked Civil Serf.

“The Establishment” is stronger than it has ever been and it is now made up of grasping careerist, rather than people with a sense of noblesse oblige. These people think nothing of destroying the careers of people who might embarrass them.

You have all been warned !!!

Anonymous said...

This is no ordinary employer and there is some public interest here. I've not seen any of the posts and although take a dim view of tabloid style indiscretion by any trusted employee (civil servant or otherwise) there is no reason to hound them off the internet. Who took that blog down and off line?
MAC

Anonymous said...

Actually, although I have a lot of sympathy for the gruesome fate that is now about to befall Civil Serf, it's a deliciously lose-lose situation for Gordon Brown, because he won't be able to resist excoriating this poor woman - or rather ensuring that his creatures excoriate her (lose, because that will alienate the public even more than he has done already), and when he does so he will lose again because he will be exposed as Stalin all over again - Vince Cable will have a field day. Civil Serf is dead - long live Civil Serf.