The Cabinet Office, dominated by people with “posh” London accents, is accused of being institutionally racist with perpetrators going unpunished, according to an internal review.
The leaked report, which revealed that 10 per cent of the 10,000-strong staff experienced bullying and harassment, comes amid calls for a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination of any kind.
The review, comprising dozens of interviews, focus groups and surveys, said non-white civil servants had a sense of being alienated and that they had to “work harder to be respected and understood”.
According to it, the dominance of “posh” people could lead employees from other socio-economic backgrounds to feel as if they were “outsiders” and make them “self-conscious about the way they speak".
Ethnic minority staff also "described feeling as if they had to sometimes change their behaviour to fit in,” the review seen by the BBC revealed.
"This included changes to how they speak and present themselves to be less like their own identity or the communities they come from," it said.
Some members of the staff said they felt “like they did not belong” when they were lone ethnic minority individuals in the offices.
"We have to be a certain way in order for people around us to perceive us as being just as valid as someone who went to Oxbridge", an employee was quoted as saying in the report.
The review was commissioned in October last year after the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) representing civil servants demanded an overhaul of the system.
It was not the first time that the Cabinet Office found itself amid allegations of discrimination.
A survey conducted in 2021 found that it had the joint highest rate of bullying and harassment among all government departments and the third highest rate of discrimination.
It said just 37 per cent of those who experienced bullying or harassment in the previous 12 months reported such incidents, while others chose to remain silent for the fear of possible negative impacts their complaints would have on their careers.
The Cabinet Office asserted that it would not tolerate bullying, harassment or discrimination in any form.
Its spokesperson told the BBC that the department would fully implement recommendations in the report by “prioritising actions that will have the greatest immediate impact."
Racism and bullying widespread in Cabinet Office, leaked report reveals
The review finds 10 per cent of the staff experienced bullying and harassment
Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap perform at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Police may probe anti-Israel comments at Glastonbury
BRITISH police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows.
"We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday (28).
Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan made anti-Israeli chants in separate shows on the West Holts stage on Saturday. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in a reference to the Israel Defense Forces.
"Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation," the police statement said.
The Israeli Embassy in Britain said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival".
Prime minister Keir Starmer said earlier this month it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap to appear at Glastonbury.
The band's frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He has denied the charge.
A British government minister said it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made at Glastonbury, and that the festival's organisers and the BBC broadcaster - which is showing the event - had questions to answer.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
"I'd also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank," Streeting told Sky News.
"I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously," he said.
(Reuters)