Liz Truss has sparked an angry backlash after claiming “woke culture” in the civil service “strays into antisemitism”.
Whitehall reps said the “inflammatory accusations” from the likely next Prime Minister - for which she gave no evidence - showed a “lack of leadership”.
They warned it “goes further than the usual dog-whistle politics” and senior civil servants would find it “both insulting and abhorrent”.
The claims were contained in a press release from her campaign, in which Ms Truss also praised “Jewish values” such as “setting up your own business”. Critics on Twitter suggested she was resorting to “stereotypes”.
A source on the campaign also drew criticism for saying Labour was “a talking shop for antisemitism and antizionism”, under both Jeremy Corbyn and Keir Starmer.
At a synagogue in Manchester today, Ms Truss said “she will change woke civil service culture that strays into antisemitism”, according to her campaign.
She also vowed to rid university campuses of antisemitism and review if schools were doing enough to educate pupils and teachers about it, her campaign said.
But journalist Hugo Rifkind said the attack on “woke” culture and antisemitism in the same sentence was “baffling” and “grim”.
He added: “Equating Jews with rightwing reactionary politics is what leftwing antisemites do. Am pretty colossally unkeen on Tories doing it, too.”
Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA civil service union, said: “The Conservatives have been in government for more than 12 years now and, for most of that time, Liz Truss has been a minister.
“So accusations of ‘civil service wokeism’ are a little ironic, given it’s essentially a criticism of their own leadership.
“However, Truss’s accusation of antisemitism goes further than the usual dog-whistle politics that has been on display during this leadership campaign when it comes to the civil service.
“She provides no evidence for her accusation that many civil servants will find both insulting and abhorrent.
“A Prime Minister is also Minister for the Civil Service, and throwing around such unfounded inflammatory accusations illustrates a lack of leadership, the very thing that she claims to be demonstrating.”
Sam Freedman, a senior fellow at the Institute for Government, said the comment was “bizarre”.
He added: “I worked in the civil service for three years and have worked with numerous officials on various things since then and have never once experienced any anti-semitism.”
During her visit, Ms Truss also vowed to complete a free trade deal between Britain and Israel.
According to her campaign, she said of “civil service wokeism”: “Every organisation has its culture, but it’s not fixed, it can be changed.
“That’s what ministerial leadership is about: it’s about making sure that the policies we represent, the values we stand for, are reflected in what we do. I’ve been very clear with our officials about the positions we take on Israel, and that will continue if I become Prime Minister.”
She added: “So many Jewish values are Conservative values and British values too, for example seeing the importance of family and always taking steps to protect the family unit; and the value of hard work and self-starting and setting up your own business.
“The British Jewish community is incredibly proud of this country and so are Conservatives.”
