Christopher Glamorganshire: The story so far (as seen on the blogs)

At the risk of upsetting the sensitive souls of those in power [in Wales anyway], I wondered what I could do next. Shall I talk further about a well-known catchphrase of all talk and little action or failures that have left Wales firms 'poor cousins'? The economy in crisis seems to be a popular topic for the foreseeable future and has been for some time. Not today.

Standing up for a blogging brother. This will do for now.
Following the original article in the Western Mail by Martin Shipton, 9th July 2008 there clearly has a lot more mileage to go in the story of Christopher Glamorganshire, with the latest from the real journalists being that of the BBC, Political Editor Betsan Powys on 18th September 2008.

Betsan clearly has the insider's view looking at the detail of information provided, but we still haven't heard from the Glamorganshire blogger despite numerous attempts from the media to get a message to him. Both Matt Wardman and I have been contacted over the last few months to see if we can get a message across [mediums in the blogging world], and I can only imagine that other bloggers have also been contacted this way. We both are unsure as to whether we are doing this former blogger the power of good by documenting his case in this way, nevertheless we support you, and the best of luck to you Christopher.

My sources in the Welsh power-hub tell me that the tribunal is set for January 2009 [not confirmed].

The following is a list of blog posts to date that cover discussion [those I can find] on the "neutral" blogger that was sacked by the Welsh Assembly Government:

1. One law for the rich, 9th July 2008 Socialist Party Wales
2. All the best Chris 9th July 2008, Miserable Old Fart
3. Chris Glamorgan goes to Court 9th July 2008 Valleys Mam
4. Welsh blogger's legal action 9th July 2008, Ordovicius
5. Freedom of Speech: Standing up for the right to blog 9th July 2008, Miss Wagstaff Presents
6. Christopher Glamorganshire: What a price to pay for freedom of speech 10th July 2008, Miss Wagstaff Presents
7. LITERATURE - Christopher Glamorgan's Blogging 10th July 2008 Damon Lord Linguanaut
8. Dooced Welsh Civil Service Blogger goes to Industrial Tribunal Today 11th July 2008 Wardman Wire
9. In Wales they sack bloggers, don't they? 11th July 2008, The Daily Telegraph Blogs
10. Welsh Civil Service Blogger goes to Industrial Tribunal Today 11th July 2008, Matt Wardman for Our Kingdom
11. Inside the Assembly jail 11th July 2008, Cambria Politico
12. On Exams, Christopher Glamorganshire and blogging 11th July 2008 On a Hill
13. Tidbits electronig 12th July 2008 Dancing the Polka with Miss El Cajon
14. What a price to pay 12th July 2008 Facebook Causes
15. Risk worth taking? 12 July 2008, David Jones MP
16. Welsh Assemby sacks blogger 12th July 2008 Paul Canning
17. Christopher Glamorganshire sacking story cut and paste Promotional Tour 13th July 2008 Wardman Wire
18. Civil servant who blogged about government dumped 13th July 2008, So Said the Organization
19. Seen Elsewhere (7) 13th July 2008, Question That
20. Blogpower Roundup - Ian_QT 13th July 2008, Blogpower
21. Should you be fired for blogging? 13th July 2008, Dube
22. Setback for public sector bloggers 13th July 2008 Dave Press
23. Christopher Glamorganshire: Questions to be Answered, 15th July 2008, Wardman Wire
24. Christopher Glamorganshire: Questions to be Answered 16th July 2008, Miss Wagstaff Presents
25. Previous Welsh bloggers who lost their jobs: This is a new ballgame 16th July 2008 Wardman Wire
26. Welsh Blogger Fired from Assembly, Sues 16 July 2008 Committee to Protect Bloggers
27. Previous Welsh bloggers who lost their jobs: This is a new ballgame 17th July 2008, Miss Wagstaff Presents
28. Matt Wardman on Radio Wales Good Evening Wales 4th August 2008, Wardman Wire
29. Blogging civil servants 4th August 2008, Peter Black AM
30. Matt Wardman on Radio Wales Good Evening Wales about Civil Service Bloggers 4th August 2008, Wardman Wire
31. POLITICS - Did I kill Pippa Wagstaff [includes section on CG]? 11th August 2008, Damon Lord
32. WAG and the Assembly Commission catching up with the times...eventually 12th September 2008, Miss Wagstaff Presents
33. Free speech, huge bills? 18th September 2008, Betsan Powys (BBC)
34. A Betsan by any other name would smell as sweet 18th September 2008, Miss Wagstaff Presents
35. Betsan has the inside on this one, 18th September 2008, Valleys Mam
36. Still Supporting Chris! 19th September 2008, Miserable Old Fart
37. The 'Welsh' Civil Service Code v Christopher Glamorganshire's Blog, 19th September 2008, Miss Wagstaff Presents
38. Christopher Glamorganshire Back in the News: Welsh Civil Service Code, 19th Sept 2008, Wardman Wire
39. This was Christopher Glamorgans profile - good sense of fun, 19th September 2008, Valleys Mam

Matt Wardman's entire series can be read HERE, and my own can be viewed HERE.

If you have seen any articles that are not on the list, please let us know in the comments section.

Miss Wagstaff Presents has been forgiven??

Valleys Mam has some news for me.

"Shhhhhhhhh you can access your blog from some Assembly computers [looks around], two people have told me so :>)"

It seems there are some who think we are the same. If only she had linked to this blog in her post I would've noticed her news sooner ;)

A Betsan by any other name would smell as sweet

Another Welsh blogger has taken to reporting about the fate of Christopher Glamorganshire, with more success than I when it comes to the latest gossip.

Betsan Powys' latest post covers what she's heard in "Free speech, huge bills?":

"If you were born in Cardiff, why didn't your parents call you Betsan South Glamorgan?"

A question endured in school over and again but now, of course, I know the answer. As Christopher Glamorgan has proven, it would have been too dangerous a name to adopt.

Who is Christopher? He is - or was - a civil servant of many years, employed by the Welsh Assembly Government and who was sacked as a result of publishing an anonymous blog.

Whether the case against him stands up or not has been a matter of some discussion in parts of the Welsh blogosphere (particularly here) already.

For what it's worth, this is what I know.

The latest suggestion is that his tribunal case is going ahead, that it's unlikely to be heard until next year but that it will be discussed in an internal meeting, presumably in government offices in Cathays Park, next week.

Why was he sacked?

His thoughts on "Who would be a leader in a wicked, wicked world" drew the attention of someone in Cathays Park in July of last year. A flurry of confidential Emails started:

"This is the blog I mentioned earlier - reading it all and the profile places the individual in the Bay picking up plenty of insider stuff on WAG".

The then Permanent Secretary, Sir Jon Shortridge, gets involved.

"The Permanent Secretary has asked me to check if any emails have gone out to this blog site (or if people apart from ... have browsed). The site has contained some detail which may have links with leak enquiries".

He was sacked and and as things stand is taking his case to tribunal, despite his union, the PCS, heeding advice they've been given that he has some mountain to climb, such a mountain, carrying the threat of such a big bill at the end, that they've decided he must climb it alone.

Solicitors acting for the government don't mince their words. In letters I've had sight of they sum up the conclusions of the Employment Judge (and bear in mind I'm quoting their own summing up here, not quotes from a transcript) like this:

the "claim has little reasonable prospect of success", the blog was "contrary to the civil service code" and "has the potential to cause an embarrassment to the Welsh Assembly Government", therefore breaking the code.

Had 'Christopher Glamorgan' been guilty of "excessive internet abuse and potential copyright infringement" alone the judge seems to conclude that a final written warning would have been enough. However the blog, "the most serious of the issues", means dismissal "would fall within the band of reasonable responses available to a reasonable employer".

The letter ends on what I'll call a blunt note: go ahead and we'll apply for a full costs order against you, one that covers all fees, charges, disbursements and expenses incurred by WAG.

Give in now and we won't.

Thanks for the hat-tip Betsan.

WAG and the Assembly Commission catching up with the times...eventually

There have been developments within the Assembly corridors in relation questions on blogging and social networking. Assembly Member and Welsh blogfather, Peter Black, has been asking the First Minister certain questions relating to 'principles for participation online'

Peter Black AM has received the following response from the First Minister:

Following the discussion on this blog and others following Miss Wagstaff's exclusion from Facebook at the beginning of August I have now had a reply to my question to the First Minister as to whether the UK Civil Service guidelines entitled 'principles for participation on-line' apply to employees of the Welsh Assembly Government.

In a letter to me Rhodri Morgan explains: 'All civil servants are subject to the requirements of the Civil Service Code. Separate Codes exist in Wales, Scotland and England reflecting the differing legal position of civil servants in relation to their respective ministerial accountability. A Welsh Assembly Government Civil Service Code was introduced in July 2007 reflecting the legal position of civil servants in relation to Welsh Ministers. The provisions within the Assembly Government Code are the same as those that apply to Whitehall Departments and other devolved administrations.The 'principles for participation on-line' are published by the Cabinet Office as guidance for all civil servants with reference to how they relate to the Civil Service Code. Work is underway to supplement the Assembly Government ICT Usage Policy with a social network and blogging policy to ensure that the principles are reflected in the new policy.'In other words, watch this space. I think some more questions need to be tabled on timescales.

In a more recent post, Peter Black reports that he has received more information on the matter, which demonstrates that the Assembly Government has finally woken up to the internet, but is still drowsy:

I reported a week ago that the Welsh Assembly Government are putting together a social network and blogging policy for its employees to reflect the UK Civil Service guidelines entitled 'principles for participation on-line'. I now have more information.

In an answer to a written question Rhodri Morgan tells me that 'the Social Networking and Blogging Policy is currently under development, the first draft is expected to be complete by 18 September 2008. Following completion of the draft, the policy will be put to consultation with Legal Services, Human Resources and Trade Union Side. The agreed period for consultations of this nature is eight weeks. Provided that further amendments are not required, the policy should be communicated to staff at the beginning of December.'

The Assembly Commission is also developing its own policy

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This has no impact on me as I am not a servant of the State, but I did make me review my previous posts. Looking back over the last several months, it does bring some former discussions back to life...

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Why was Christopher Glamorganshire sacked from the staff of the Welsh Assembly Government if no blogging policy was in existence?

I've recently reviewed the online media and there's still no mention of a tribunal, and little relevance in the argument of not abiding to the civil service code on either the UK government website or that of the Assembly Government.

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I shouldn't admit to reading blogs while on holiday. Will have to write further on this when I return to blogging in the next two weeks.

Welsh Politics needs an Open Culture in the Welsh Assembly Government

Interesting new post from Matt Wardman which I think may be of interest to readers of this blog. Read for yourselves:

I had an exchange with Tom Watson MP, who launched the debate that lead to eventual creation of the Principles for Participation Online for Civil Servants, before my interview with Radio Wales.

In my first post, I said:

I wonder if I can get a statement from Tom Watson by 5:00pm that the Principles for Online Participation apply in Wales as well as England?

This article is to look at Tom’s reply and to ask a couple of questions about the Welsh Assembly Government.

Reply from Tom Watson
I asked:
Tom - can you confirm that Civil Service Principles for Participation Online apply in Wales? CS Code does. I’m on Radio later about CS blogs 03:36 PM August 04, 2008

Tom Replied:
Hi Matt, for civil servants employed by the UK government, yes. People employed by the Assembly have a separate code. That’s devolution. 04:28 PM August 04, 2008

Reading the Runes

Thanks, Tom, for a quick reply (another use for Twitter). So the facts are as follows:

1. The Welsh Assembly Government has adopted the UK Civil Service Code practically verbatim (Welsh Civil Service Code, UK Civil Service Code - both as at July 2008, both small PDF files). The “separate” code is roughly different in replacing “Westminster” with “Cardiff”.
2. The Principles for Participation Online are short and sweet.
   

I went into these differences in detail here.

The question then becomes:
The Principles for Participation Online have now been out for some time (since around June 19th), so why can’t they just be adopted straight into the system in Wales - as is already the precedent with the substantive Civil Service Code?

Taking Action
If I was an employee of the W.A.G. I’d be asking management for confirmation that the Principles for Participation Online apply. Who knows, they might say “Yes“.

If I was a blogging AM, I’d be thinking about asking a few questions to clarify the situation, and hopefully precipitate some action.

If I was an employee of part of the UK-wide Civil Service in Wales (DVLA, maybe?), I’d be informing my management that they applied - perhaps via a Union (or my blog!) if I was worried of being accused of being a tall poppy.

The Most Important Point
The Principles for Online Participation could represent a good step forward - as they allow a lot of leeway for local decision making. But I still think this is mainly about a change to a culture of encouraging political debate rather than stifling it.

The most important point is the last one I mentioned in the Radio discussion - at a time when the rhetoric is calling for more political participation, why are bloggers (who are doing just that) still getting chopped off at the knee? View it from a slightly different angle, and political (or professional) blogs by Civil Servants could be a triumph of open government. It would certainly beat winning a jar of bath salts in a prize draw for voting.

Another good start would be to unblock ALL blogs in ALL Civil Service establishments. Regulate reading during working hours - fine, but at lunchtime? Come on, boys and girls … let’s have some changes.

The Radio Audio of blogging civil servants, and Miss Wagstaff on Facebook

In case you missed the discussion on 'Good Evening Wales' about recent events in the Welsh blogosphere and Facebook, Matt Wardman has kindly placed the audio on his blog.

We were talking about the restrictions on blogging Civil Servants in Wales, in the light of Miss Wagstaff’s expulsion from Facebook.

I’m delighted that Peter Black AM was more controversial than I was. Welsh Assembly Government “stalinist” indeed - ouch!

The only missing point that perhaps needed to be made was a detailed one that the Christopher Glamorganshire sacking case happened before the “Principles for Participation Online” were officially adopted in England.

I also didn’t get the chance to suggest that the Welsh Assembly Government are perhaps having their internal culture inspired too much by the Torchwood programme episodes set in the 1940s. A problem of working too close to a film set, perhaps.

Peter Black’s final point about the need for consultation with employees is excellent, and it seems to me that - if the Welsh Assembly Government can adopt the Civil Service Code itself with virtually no changes - then it can’t be very difficult to adopt a 79-word set of principles (warning: pic of Government Minister at end of link !).