Some  have pointed to the link between the global financial crisis and a general acceptance of corruption at high levels.  In that light, today’s item from the UK Daily Mail is a real embarrassment for the UK politicians.  It suggests that Extraordinary freebies are enjoyed by Britain’s mandarins.

Extraordinary details of the lavish hospitality enjoyed by top civil servants have been exposed.  Senior mandarins were wined and dined by blue-chip companies and treated to days at the races, nights at the opera and tickets to major sporting events.  Sir Brian Bender, one of the highest-ranking men in Whitehall, accepted invitations to 52 events  -  an average of one a week.

Remember that the same newspaper at the end of January was headlining the bonuses that Cabinet civil servants had received, so it would not appear that they really need the freebies.

Cabinet Office mandarins last year pocketed almost £ 1million in bonuses, it has emerged.  The senior civil servants received an average bonus of almost £9,300 each last year.  A total of 105 payouts were given at a cost to the taxpayer of £972,500.  The scale of the Whitehall bonus culture was met with dismay by campaigners, at a time when many workers fear losing their jobs in the recession.

We are living through extraordinary times and certainly it is not the time for business as usual.  Equally one would hope that we can get away from government as usual if this is the way it has been conducted.

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