The decision of Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng to instantly sack two top civil servants damaged the running of government and seemed intended to give the message that they valued political alignment above competence, former senior officials have said.
Giving evidence to a parliamentary committee, three leading ex-civil servants said that the dismissal of Tom Scholar as the Treasury’s permanent secretary, in particular, made it harder for others to deliver unwelcome news and potentially worsened the crisis triggered by Kwarteng’s mini-budget.
