HM Revenue and Customs has cancelled a taxpayer-funded event titled “The Guilt of Being British” after a huge backlash. The hour-long session, which would have involved a “listening circle”, was scheduled for 11am next Wednesday by HMRC’s internal Race Network. Organisers promised it would give staff a chance to explore “the emotional weight of colonial history” and the “guilt, pride and identity” of being South Asian and British.
The Governnment department has now backtracked on its plans, however, after Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch blasted it as “nonsense” that risked undermining public trust in the civil service. “This event has rightly been cancelled, with our full focus being on serving our customers day in and day out,” an HMRC spokesperson said. “Lessons will be learned from this.”
The department previously said less than 0.1% of its 60,000 staff would have attended the event, and it would have had “no impact on our ability to staff our helplines”.
Ms Badenoch told MailOnline: “Is it any wonder the public hate dealing with HMRC, now we learn the staff are being made to feel guilty about being British?
“In Government, I fought to remove all this nonsense from the Civil Service. Under my leadership, a Conservative Government will ensure public bodies are proud of Britain, not ashamed of it.
Former cabinet member Jacob Rees Mogg added: “It is peculiar that people who hate their country want to run it. Perhaps I should offer a course on why being British is to win first prize in the lottery of life.”
“We’ll defend our history, not apologise for it. And if that offends the Civil Service’s seminar circuit, they’re welcome to go somewhere else.”
An anonymous civil servant said: “This example of a work-time staff event pushing a highly divisive anti-British narrative perfectly encapsulates the nightmare that is Civil Service staff networks.
“Those focused on race and [transgender] in particular seem to operate entirely without scrutiny, and attract large numbers of activist staff, intent on pushing their personal beliefs on their colleagues.”