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Lisa Greenwood sacked for calling Hazel Blears a liarLisa Greenwood, a junior civil servant at the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) in Runcorn, has been sacked from her £16,000 a year job for calling Hazel Blears a thief and a liar. At the height of the expenses scandal, Ms Greenwood emailed Ms Blears: |
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Subject line: LIAR"You and your honourable members are all liars and thieves. I was appalled to see you on national television this morning waving a cheque around as if it was going to make everything OK. You are not sorry at all. (Only sorry that you have been caught.) You are a disgrace. Why haven't you been arrested and why have you not been sacked? Not that my comments will have any impact. I doubt you will even read this." |
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Coffee breakMs Greenwood sent the email by Hotmail during her coffee break, but it bounced back. So she sent it again, but by clicking the link on the MP's web page she inadvertently sent it from her work email account.At 7pm that evening Ms Greenwood received a 'phone call suspending her from work and, following a disciplinary hearing, was fired from her job. The sacking was upheld on appeal.  Code from Hazel Blear's web page
- the 'mailto' command was the problem
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Gross misconductA DCFS spokesman said Ms Greenwood had been found guilty of gross misconduct and had brought the department into disrepute. He added:'The civil service has a clear code of conduct for its employees, which states that civil servants should be politically impartial at all times, and not act in a way that could damage the reputation of their department. 'We expect all our staff to adhere to this code of conduct, and there are clear consequences for those who break the rules. 'This makes sure that the civil service remains honest, impartial and professional, and continues to provide a high level of service to the public.' |
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The smugness of BlearsMs Greenwood told the Guardian:'It is the smugness of Hazel Blears that got me. If I was caught with my hands in the till or if I walked out of Asda with a trolley full of shopping without paying then I would expect something to happen. Yet she has still got her job.' It is unknown how the DCFS tracked the email to Ms Greenwood. Either the recipient - Ms Blears or a member of her staff - tipped off the department, or it was caught by monitoring equipment at the department's internet gateway. Either way, Ms Blears retains her job while Ms Greenwood is without one. The case is similar to that of Mark France. A Facebook group Defend Free Speech - Reinstate Lisa Greenwood has been started. (9 July 2009) |
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