Analysis: Sir Humphrey, Malcolm Tucker, and now a fan who’s seemingly mesmerised by a superstar

The British civil service has always prided itself on its political impartiality. It has always handled transitions from one political party to another seamlessly. So, John Major’s press secretary becomes Gordon Brown’s permanent secretary and finally David Cameron’s Cabinet secretary. Is there an admirable flexibility here? Oh, yes. But, politicisation? Not at all. The iron rule has been that the civil service supports whichever political party is in power, but it is never co-opted to the party’s cause.

For the citizen, there is always the knowledge that the civil service has a code of conduct that would be enforced by the head of department, the permanent secretary. Except, it seems, in Scotland.

Yesterday, the belief that there was an independent arbiter within the Scottish Government, preventing civil servants from succumbing to political pressure was shattered. E-mails from Sir Peter Housden reveal opinions that are far from the traditional interpretation of civil service impartiality.

Sir Peter sends a regular e-mail to Scottish Government staff – a sensible enough idea for any leader. But read what he said just after the SNP victory in the May elections. “And now we go to it”, he wrote. “This will be a remarkable period in Scotland’s history as we embark on a journey toward constitutional reform with the near-term strengthening of the Scotland Bill and a referendum in the second half of the parliament.

“It’s remarkable how the terms of this debate have changed irrevocably in just three weeks. Calman and the status quo now seem lost in the mists of time.”

It’s worth quoting at length because it is so revealing.

The first thing to point out is that Sir Peter Housden does not work for a separate Scottish civil service. He works for the UK civil service. And he does not support an independent government; he works for one within Britain and subordinate to the UK government.

So, the Calman Commission he so easily dismisses as lost in the mists of time is actually the basis of UK legislation, which will impact on the powers of the Scottish Parliament and the responsibilities of Housden’s staff.

Second, and far more sinister, is his airy reference to a referendum in the second half of the parliament.

Sir Peter is the accounting officer for the Scottish Executive. He advises on the lawfulness of expenditure. Now, Housden knows as well as anyone that the Scottish Parliament has no power to call a constitutional referendum. And his advice to Alex Salmond should be that expenditure on it is ultra vires.

Instead, he appears to have already endorsed the holding of an illegal referendum. This isn’t the frank and fearless advice of civil service legend. It’s the worst combination of the feline skills of Sir Humphrey Appleby and the ranting of a Malcolm Tucker. It is, in fact, the actions of a fan mesmerised by a superstar.

There are many important judgment calls that will need to be made by the civil service over the next few years. I suppose at least we know now that they will not be made impartially.

l John McTernan is a commentator and political strategist. He was political secretary to Tony Blair and has been an adviser on health, welfare, defence and Scotland.