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| Labour calls for investigation into Michael Gove's special advisers | Labour calls for investigation into Michael Gove's special advisers |
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| Labour has called for an official investigation into claims that special advisers to the education secretary, Michael Gove, have used the social networking site Twitter to make anonymous attacks on journalists. | Labour has called for an official investigation into claims that special advisers to the education secretary, Michael Gove, have used the social networking site Twitter to make anonymous attacks on journalists. |
| Stephen Twigg, the shadow education secretary, has written to the cabinet secretary, Sir Jeremy Heywood, the most senior civil servant, asking for a formal investigation into the claims in the Observer on Sunday, and previous allegations, that staff in the education department were behind a previous attack on the former children's minister Tim Loughton that labelled him "a lazy, incompetent narcissist". | Stephen Twigg, the shadow education secretary, has written to the cabinet secretary, Sir Jeremy Heywood, the most senior civil servant, asking for a formal investigation into the claims in the Observer on Sunday, and previous allegations, that staff in the education department were behind a previous attack on the former children's minister Tim Loughton that labelled him "a lazy, incompetent narcissist". |
| As well as looking into the newspaper's claims that the @toryeducation Twitter feed is linked to Gove's advisers Dominic Cummings and Henry de Zoete, and the insulting of Loughton, Twigg wants Heywood to find out if "official departmental resources" such as computers, BlackBerrys or phones have been used. | As well as looking into the newspaper's claims that the @toryeducation Twitter feed is linked to Gove's advisers Dominic Cummings and Henry de Zoete, and the insulting of Loughton, Twigg wants Heywood to find out if "official departmental resources" such as computers, BlackBerrys or phones have been used. |
| "As you will be aware, the special advisers' code specifies that personal attacks are prohibited," writes Twigg. "The highest standards of conduct are expected of special advisers and, specifically, the preparation or dissemination of inappropriate material or personal attacks has no part to play in the job of being a special adviser as it has no part to play in the conduct of public life. | "As you will be aware, the special advisers' code specifies that personal attacks are prohibited," writes Twigg. "The highest standards of conduct are expected of special advisers and, specifically, the preparation or dissemination of inappropriate material or personal attacks has no part to play in the job of being a special adviser as it has no part to play in the conduct of public life. |
| "Any special adviser ever found to be disseminating inappropriate material will automatically be dismissed by their appointing minister." The Cabinet Office said that the complaints would be handled by the Department for Education. | |
| On Sunday, the Department for Education issued a statement saying: "If we were to receive any evidence anyone had broken the special advisers' code or civil service code [much of which also covers special advisers], we'd take appropriate steps, but so far no such evidence has been provided." | On Sunday, the Department for Education issued a statement saying: "If we were to receive any evidence anyone had broken the special advisers' code or civil service code [much of which also covers special advisers], we'd take appropriate steps, but so far no such evidence has been provided." |
| The Observer said it launched an investigation into @toryeducation after its political editor, Toby Helm, was personally attacked last week for, among other things, being a "Labour stooge". The Twitter feed has previously made personal attacks on the Financial Times's former education correspondent Chris Cook, the Guardian's former education correspondent Jeevan Vasagar, and former Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell. | The Observer said it launched an investigation into @toryeducation after its political editor, Toby Helm, was personally attacked last week for, among other things, being a "Labour stooge". The Twitter feed has previously made personal attacks on the Financial Times's former education correspondent Chris Cook, the Guardian's former education correspondent Jeevan Vasagar, and former Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell. |
| The @toryeducation feed also retweeted an insult from Gove's wife, Sarah Vine, which appears to have been sent a year ago, in which she appears to have said: "when does @tobyhelm [Helm's twitter account name] stop pretending to objectivity and admit he's a political activist not a neutral reporter". | The @toryeducation feed also retweeted an insult from Gove's wife, Sarah Vine, which appears to have been sent a year ago, in which she appears to have said: "when does @tobyhelm [Helm's twitter account name] stop pretending to objectivity and admit he's a political activist not a neutral reporter". |
| When contacted by the Observer, De Zoete stated: "I am not toryeducation" and said he did not know who was involved. Cummings said in an email to the paper that Helm and Cook should take "a Twitter detox because it's melting your brains, focus on what's important, stop behaving like eight-year-olds". | When contacted by the Observer, De Zoete stated: "I am not toryeducation" and said he did not know who was involved. Cummings said in an email to the paper that Helm and Cook should take "a Twitter detox because it's melting your brains, focus on what's important, stop behaving like eight-year-olds". |
| Loughton, who lost his job in the September reshuffle, has also asked the education department's permanent secretary, Chris Wormald, to investigate an attack on him in the Spectator magazine's Coffee House blog, after he told a select committee that the education department was not making children's issues enough of a priority. | Loughton, who lost his job in the September reshuffle, has also asked the education department's permanent secretary, Chris Wormald, to investigate an attack on him in the Spectator magazine's Coffee House blog, after he told a select committee that the education department was not making children's issues enough of a priority. |
| The Observer has also asked Wormald to investigate its claims about the @toryeducation Twitter feed. | The Observer has also asked Wormald to investigate its claims about the @toryeducation Twitter feed. |