- The Observer newspaper (30th Sep 23) reported that the Department for Education (DfE) was keeping files that monitored the social media activity of leading educational experts.
- Nine experts have discovered files are being held on them.
- The nine include Ruth Swailes and Aaron Bradbury, who are co-authors of a book on early childhood.
- They were due to be the headline speakers at a government-sponsored conference for nursery workers and childminders.
- However, the conference organisers informed them that the DfE was planning to cancel the event just days before it was scheduled to begin.
- Bradbury said the reason given by the DfE was that Swailes and Bradbury were considered to be “unsuitable” because they had criticised government policy.
- In response, Aaron Bradbury stated, “To be told that we couldn’t have this debate felt like we were living in a dictatorship, not a democracy”.
- Feeling shocked by the events, Ruth Swailes filed a subject access request, which required the DfE to disclose any documents it was holding on her.
- After discovering the DfE was monitoring her, Swailes stated, “They have tried to silence me”.
- Sue Cowley, an education expert who runs training for schools, tweeted her response to the records: “Excuse my language but WTAF [what the actual fuck] are the DfE doing spending taxpayer money conducting surveillance on critics of government policy on here?”
Traditionally, this, in many ways, is nothing new. The government, major organisations, and corporate charities, have always excluded people that criticise them from things they can control and influence.
But its fair to say that when a government department or politicians say they value open transparent critical debate, they are being somewhat hypocritical and cowardly, if they are also, at the same time, keeping records of people who have different and critical views, and try to exclude them from conferences, professionals and policy networks.
And, like all government spying, that is not legally mandated or required, it is a gigantic waste of tax payer money – if there are major shortfalls in public provision (which there always is).