Rishi Sunak considered union ban for thousands of key staff – leaked emails

Leaked emails show that banning Border Force staff from joining a union was one of the options put to the prime minister by senior officials. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

Rishi Sunak considered banning thousands of workers from joining a union, according to leaked government emails detailing proposals described as potentially the “biggest attack on workers’ rights and freedoms” for decades.

The messages, shared between senior civil servants and seen by the Observer, reveal that the prime minister contemplated banning Border Force (BF) staff from trade union membership under its anti-strike legislation announced last Thursday.