Wednesday, December 27, 2023
End government by WhatsApp
Some commonsense in today's Guardian, with the former head of GCHQ calling for an end to the government handling crises over WhatsApp, saying the platform might suit gossip and informal exchanges but is inappropriate for important decision-making.
The paper says that Sir David Omand, who ran the UK intelligence service before becoming the permanent secretary of the Home Office and the Cabinet Office, criticised the way government was conducted in the pandemic and said future crises should be handled with “proper process”:
Speaking in evidence to a new parliamentary inquiry and as the UK heads into a general election year, Omand said the complexities and nuances of “any decent strategic analysis … cannot be conveyed in a WhatsApp exchange”.
His intervention will put pressure on the government to ensure decisions are properly made and recorded in the future. It will also strengthen demands for Labour, which is ahead in the polls, to set out its plans.
Keir Starmer’s party has promised to overhaul the government ethics system and improve transparency but has not set out how it would rethink Whitehall’s decision-making process and the business of government.
The inquiry into strategic thinking in government was ordered after the pandemic by the liaison committee, which holds the prime minister to account.
Omand, who is also a professor of war studies and a senior adviser to a cyber-investment business, said in his evidence that ministers and officials often engaged in “gossip” and “informal exchanges” as they gathered for cabinet meetings, which helped let off steam when pressure had built up.
“It is understandable that WhatsApp messages might fulfil a comparable function during lockdowns that limited much face-to-face contact,” he said.
z “But to judge by the evidence now made public by the Covid-19 inquiry, such exchanges (leaving aside the vile misogyny) had become the foreground means of forcing outcomes not just sharing background mood music.
“That Covid rationale no longer applies, if it ever did. It is essential to have a proper decision-making process if we are to survive a crisis in good order.”
He added: “There is little point in devoting effort to identifying strategic opportunities and strategic threats and risks if, when the time for action comes, there is no proper process for weighing decisions against strategic goals and adjusting course accordingly.
“The complexities and important nuances of any decent strategic analysis … cannot be conveyed in a WhatsApp exchange.”
I would have thought that ending government by WhatsApp is an essential prerequisite to more accounntability and transparency, so if this can be done it would be a major step forward. We should not forget the devolved governments either, who have also slipped into bad habits with WhatsApp.
The paper says that Sir David Omand, who ran the UK intelligence service before becoming the permanent secretary of the Home Office and the Cabinet Office, criticised the way government was conducted in the pandemic and said future crises should be handled with “proper process”:
Speaking in evidence to a new parliamentary inquiry and as the UK heads into a general election year, Omand said the complexities and nuances of “any decent strategic analysis … cannot be conveyed in a WhatsApp exchange”.
His intervention will put pressure on the government to ensure decisions are properly made and recorded in the future. It will also strengthen demands for Labour, which is ahead in the polls, to set out its plans.
Keir Starmer’s party has promised to overhaul the government ethics system and improve transparency but has not set out how it would rethink Whitehall’s decision-making process and the business of government.
The inquiry into strategic thinking in government was ordered after the pandemic by the liaison committee, which holds the prime minister to account.
Omand, who is also a professor of war studies and a senior adviser to a cyber-investment business, said in his evidence that ministers and officials often engaged in “gossip” and “informal exchanges” as they gathered for cabinet meetings, which helped let off steam when pressure had built up.
“It is understandable that WhatsApp messages might fulfil a comparable function during lockdowns that limited much face-to-face contact,” he said.
z “But to judge by the evidence now made public by the Covid-19 inquiry, such exchanges (leaving aside the vile misogyny) had become the foreground means of forcing outcomes not just sharing background mood music.
“That Covid rationale no longer applies, if it ever did. It is essential to have a proper decision-making process if we are to survive a crisis in good order.”
He added: “There is little point in devoting effort to identifying strategic opportunities and strategic threats and risks if, when the time for action comes, there is no proper process for weighing decisions against strategic goals and adjusting course accordingly.
“The complexities and important nuances of any decent strategic analysis … cannot be conveyed in a WhatsApp exchange.”
I would have thought that ending government by WhatsApp is an essential prerequisite to more accounntability and transparency, so if this can be done it would be a major step forward. We should not forget the devolved governments either, who have also slipped into bad habits with WhatsApp.
