Civil service media muzzle causes concern

The heads of three science communication organisations have written to Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude, asking him to think again about changes to the civil service code that affect civil servants’ interaction with the media.

The open letter says that changes introduced to the code on 16 March that require civil servants to obtain ministerial authorisation before they can undertake any contact with the media are a cause of “deep concern”. The letter, published on 27 March, was written by Fiona Fox, chief executive of the Science Media Centre, Ed Sykes, chairman of the network for science PR and communications professionals Stempra, and Martin Ince and Colin Blakemore, respectively the president and honorary president of the Association of British Science Writers. 

The letter says its authors fear that the changes to the code will prevent civil servants from responding to journalists within their deadlines and that this will have a negative impact on the public understanding of science and the quality of public discourse on science.