Civil servant suspended over comments on Twitter criticising ministers

A civil servant accused of criticising government ministers anonymously on Twitter has been suspended from his post, according to a report in The Sunday Times.

The civil servant’s Twitter profile – @nakedCservant – has a picture of Nigel Hawthorne as Sir Humphrey Appleby from Yes, Minister. He describes himself in this way: “A lazy good for nothing civil servant & despite the nickname I prefer members of the opposition sex! All tweets are personally expressed & not serious.” He had 454 followers on Twitter.

He is said to have criticised the Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles, and other ministers in various tweets.

The Sunday Times said a security specialist from the Cabinet Office had been brought in to find the employee. The paper said the individual had escaped detection initially because he had used his iPhone rather than his work computer to make the comments.

A spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government told Local Government Lawyer: "We can confirm that a civil servant has been suspended. A disciplinary interview will take place in the near future."