These days, it’s not hard to find an example of departmental failure. From procurement problems at the MoD to accounting errors at the Treasury, Whitehall offers a rich mine of failure from which to draw. But of all the great ministries of state, few provide more gems than the Home Office. The mandarins at 2 Marsham Street are always working on some hare-brained scheme that can destroy a Home Secretary’s career. The trouble is, in the words of Richard Wilson, not only does the minister ‘not know who they are, but neither will they.’
So it is with a sense of weariness then that Steerpike brings news of some of the more interesting views being spouted by one of the department’s directors. Back in July 2022 Nurjahan Khatun, the-then deputy director of the UK Health Security Agency, gave an interview to the Dods Diversity and Inclusion website in which she suggested that ethnic minorities should ‘leverage’ the death of George Floyd. Describing her time working in Whitehall, Khatun said:
We can’t ignore that the murder of George Floyd sent waves of change to all spectrums of society, and it is a great time as an ethnic minority to leverage that in a positive way and where possible use that as an opportunity to develop and grow yourself. Departments are realising the benefit of diversity, and that’s good news for you.
A month after that interview and Khatun was named ‘Director, System Leadership’ at the Home Office, a role for which she will be paid more than £95,000-a-year. A departmental spokesman told Steerpike that ‘The role of the Home Office is to protect the UK from harm and support economic prosperity, and our staff are focused on that endeavour.’
What would Sir Humphrey say?
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