Rishi Sunak has refused to give his new ethics adviser the power to launch his own investigations into ministers’ behaviour.
The PM today finally filled the post that has been empty for six months and published a new rulebook for members of his Cabinet.
But he faced criticism for omitting an instruction given by Boris Johnson when he first became PM that there “must be no bullying and no harassment”.
And opponents warned the watchdog will be “toothless” as he will not be able to act freely.
Sir Laurie Magnus will be responsible for overseeing whether frontbenchers stick to the rules.
The chair of Historic England will take up the role as Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests for a five-year term.
His appointment comes after Lord Geidt quit the post in June following a disagreement with Mr Johnson.
The Committee on Standards in Public Life had called for the new adviser to be given extra powers so he could decide himself whether to investigate ministers, rather than having to rely on being given permission by the PM. But Mr Sunak has refused.
In a new foreword to the ministerial code, the PM repeated the promise he made on his first day in No10 that there would be “integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level” of his government.
He made no specific mention of bullying in his introduction, however, a warning that bullying will not be tolerated by ministers still remains a part of the code.
Dave Penman, the general secretary of the FDA which represents senior civil servants, said: “We have a new Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests in Sir Laurie Magnus but the same old problems, as Rishi Sunak has ignored calls from the Committee on Standards in Public Life to allow for independent investigations.
“The Prime Minister retains a veto over investigations into his minister’s conduct and is the sole arbiter of the Ministerial Code, including any sanctions.
“How will this give civil servants the confidence to come forward?
“The new foreword to the re-issued Ministerial Code now makes no mention of the fact bullying and harassment should not be tolerated. Even Boris Johnson did that.
“Since Sunak became Prime Minister, one minister has resigned amid allegations of bullying and another is currently subject to eight separate complaints.
“Yet there is not even an attempt to reform the broken system for dealing with ministerial conduct. Integrity is just a meaningless word without action.”
Labour ’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said: “After months of dither and delay, Rishi Sunak has chosen to preserve the rotten ethics regime he inherited from his predecessors that saw the previous two ethics watchdogs walk out.
“By ignoring the Committee on Standards in Public Life and refusing to grant his ethics adviser genuine independence, this weak Prime Minister is failing to deliver the integrity he promised and instead has installed yet another toothless watchdog.”
Mr Sunak’s first months as PM has been dominated by scandals involving his ministers.
Gavin Williamson resigned from Cabinet after just two weeks after he faced bullying claims.
Deputy PM Dominic Raab is currently being investigated after eight formal complaints were made about his behaviour towards staff.
And Mr Sunak has been criticised for appointing Suella Braverman as Home Secretary just six days after she was sacked from the job for leaking.
The minister, nicknamed “Leaky Sue” now faces questions over her shambolic handling of the immigration situation, as record numbers of people make dangerous Channel crossings.
