A senior civil servant was sacked after he exposed attempts by Treasury civil servants to scupper one of George Osborne’s key jobs tax policies in the 2011 budget, an employment tribunal was told today.
David Owen claims he was told by mandarins that relief on National Insurance contributions for small businesses outside London and the South-East was to be “killed off” despite the Chancellor’s stated support for the policy.
But when the 48-year-old, with 18 years’ exemplary service, contacted ministers, including the Chancellor’s office, to check the decision had been made with the full facts he found they knew nothing about it.
Because of his concern that officials were making decisions over ministers’ heads — a breach of the civil service code — he reported it to management.
After complaining internally, Mr Owen, head of National Insurance policy, was invited to a disciplinary hearing “out of the blue” last May 24 and sacked three days later because of “an irretrievable breakdown of trust and confidence”.
Mr Owen is claiming unfair dismissal at central London employment tribunal and wants to be reinstated.
He said in a witness statement: “I led the advice on National Insurance policies. I was surprised to hear that such a policy in which ministers had consistently expressed an interest for the Budget 2011 was to be killed off...
“I could think of no way I had been untrustworthy. I had no warning that my 18 years of service was at risk at all, let alone at risk of being terminated.”
The Treasury is contesting his claims.
