Thursday 16 Aug 2007 @ 16:31
FDA
FDA
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FDA disappointed by political appointment
The decision to appoint Jack McConnell, former Scottish First Minister, as the UK's High Commissioner to Malawi from 2009 was today greeted with disappointment by the FDA - the union representing all grades in the Diplomatic Service.
This appointment follows the appointment in 2005 of former Chief Secretary to the Treasury Paul Boateng as High Commissioner to South Africa and former Scottish Secretary Helen Liddle as High Commissioner to Australia. As such, it appears to represent a worrying trend in political appointments to diplomatic posts.
FDA spokesperson Paul Whiteman said:
“The FDA has assiduously campaigned for appointments to be made on the basis of merit following a process of open competition. We believe that this is the only way to avoid accusations of cronyism.
"The Government is very keen for top jobs to be open to candidates from outside the civil service and we welcome the diversity that openness brings. However, such appointments can only be seen to be fair if there is open competition between internal and external candidates."
Notes for Editors
The FDA is the trade union and professional body representing the UK’s 17,000 senior civil and public servants. Our members include policy advisors, senior
