LIZ Truss’s claims that she will tackle “woke” civil service culture that “strays into antisemitism” have prompted fury.
Speaking at a synagogue in Manchester, the Foreign Secretary outlined plans to strengthen links between the UK and Israel and tackle antisemitism.
Her plan includes reviewing whether schools teach enough about antisemitism, removing anti-Jewish hate from universities and creating a post-Brexit free trade deal with Israel.
A statement from her campaign added that Truss wants to "change woke civil service culture that strays into antisemitism" - but failed to explain what that meant.
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Union leader Dave Penman, who represents civil servants, hit back at the "insulting and abhorrent" comments from the Tory leadership contest favourite.
Penman, general secretary of the FDA, said: “The Conservatives have been in government for more than 12 years now and, for most of that time, Liz Truss has been a minister.
“So, accusations of ‘civil service wokeism’ are a little ironic, given it’s essentially a criticism of their own leadership.
“However, Truss’s accusation of antisemitism goes further than the usual dog-whistle politics that has been on display during this leadership campaign when it comes to the civil service.
“She provides no evidence for her accusation that many civil servants will find both insulting and abhorrent.
“A prime minister is also minister for the civil service, and throwing around such unfounded inflammatory accusations illustrates a lack of leadership, the very thing that she claims to be demonstrating.”
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Speaking from Manchester, Truss said: “Every organisation has its culture, but it’s not fixed, it can be changed.
“That’s what ministerial leadership is about: it’s about making sure that the policies we represent, the values we stand for, are reflected in what we do.”
A Truss campaign source claimed that Labour has been a “talking shop for antisemitism and Anti-Zionism” under the leadership of Sir Keir Starmer, whose wife is Jewish, and formerly Jeremy Corbyn.
“This has increased anxieties within the Jewish community,” they said.
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