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Bully for Brown

commandlinegamer

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commandlinegamer
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Amidst the revelations forthcoming in Rawnsley's book about Gordon Brown, was the National Bullying Helpline right to reveal that members of Downing Street staff had contacted NBH, given that they say "We never share your details with anyone else. All correspondence is confidential."
I'd imagine the Data Protection Act applies anyway.
 
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The revelations today in the Observer range from comical to utterly bizzare. One of particular surreal quality was Brown calling his aides the C-Word at the top of his lungs while standing around in his underpants.
 
Oddly enough I don't find it very hard to believe that Brown would be a bully.

However, I was most taken aback to see the head of the National Bullying Helpline stand up in front of the news cameras and talk about calls received from Number 10 staff. Not as shocked as the staff who'd called them confidentially were though, I suspect.
 
richardm said:
Oddly enough I don't find it very hard to believe that Brown would be a bully.

However, I was most taken aback to see the head of the National Bullying Helpline stand up in front of the news cameras and talk about calls received from Number 10 staff. Not as shocked as the staff who'd called them confidentially were though, I suspect.
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Agreed on both points. I imagine that anyone calling from the office would feel badly let down and would be regretting contacting the charity. I would however make some other points.

  • Calling a helpline does not mean you are being bullied.
  • The civil service has established and well advertised procedures to deal with bullying that have at their core the protection of those making the claim.
  • A FOI request would give the press all the numbers they need on the number of instances where a claim of bullying has been upheld within any office or department.
 
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8527881.stm

...snip...

A patron of an anti-bullying charity has resigned, saying its founder breached confidentiality by claiming Downing Street staff used its helpline.

Prof Cary Cooper, an expert on workplace stress, said on Monday he had quit the National Bullying Helplin

...snip...

But Prof Cooper told the BBC he was "really upset" and that it was "wholly inappropriate" to publicly name any employer in case it left the caller open to identification.

"[As] a helpline or counselling service you never, ever reveal anything to do with when a client calls you in any way," he said.

He said he had informed Mrs Pratt of his decision by e-mail.

Mrs Pratt has also been criticised by another charity, Bullying UK, which said it was "horrified" she had "all but identified" one caller in media interviews.

"It's hard to imagine a more serious breach of confidentiality," it said on its website.

It said it was complaining about the helpline to the Charity Commission, having received e-mails from people who thought Bullying UK was responsible, and called on Mrs Pratt to consider her position.

...snip...
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Pity the government didn't employ her husband's' consutancy firm to help solve the problem:

...snip...

Mrs Pratt defended the operation of her helpline in the face of accusations that she had used it as a means of "angling for business" for a human resources consultancy run by her husband.

She acknowledged they did offer to refer callers to the consultancy, but insisted the arrangement was "done under an agreement that has been approved by the Law Society".

"It has been thoroughly vetted," she added.

Labour MP Anne Snelgrove, who helped Mrs Pratt launch the helpline, had said she severed links with her after receiving complaints in 2008 about the way it referred calls to the consultancy.

...snip...
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The Dark Lord seems to be seeing a conspiracy:

"This whole affair is starting to acquire a slight odour.

I assumed that this was a storm in a teacup manufactured by somebody who wanted to get some good headlines for his book.

It now looks like more of a political operation that's under way directed at the prime minister personally."
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BBC via Darat said:
Labour MP Anne Snelgrove, who helped Mrs Pratt launch the helpline, had said she severed links with her after receiving complaints in 2008 about the way it referred calls to the consultancy.
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Anne Snelgrove is Gordon Brown's Parliamentary Private Secretary... so perhaps Mandelson isn't far off the mark. Is Pratt seizing the opportunity to settle old scores?
 
some thoughts:

I can perfectly accept that Brown is a bully, there are plenty of accounts out there of his volcanic temper and ultra-stressed ultra micro-management style....

Mandleson shouldn't have come out and lied in response to the Observer stories (though he is a professional liar so who's surprised)

The National Bullying phoneline shouldn't have responded to Mandleson's lies by breaching confidentiality....

So, what have we learnt? Our country is in the hands of bullies and liars....and don't phone the bullying helping cos your nasty bullying boss might find out.....
 
andyandy said:
some thoughts:

I can perfectly accept that Brown is a bully, there are plenty of accounts out there of his volcanic temper and ultra-stressed ultra micro-management style....

Mandleson shouldn't have come out and lied in response to the Observer stories (though he is a professional liar so who's surprised)

The National Bullying phoneline shouldn't have responded to Mandleson's lies by breaching confidentiality....

So, what have we learnt? Our country is in the hands of bullies and liars....and don't phone the bullying helping cos your nasty bullying boss might find out.....
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What lies did Mandy tell? I didn't hear his interview but understood him to say that there was no bullying
in No 10. I am unaware of any proof of bullying in No. 10. A claim of bullying does not mean there is bullying.
 
Lothian said:
What lies did Mandy tell? I didn't hear his interview but understood him to say that there was no bullying
in No 10. I am unaware of any proof of bullying in No. 10. A claim of bullying does not mean there is bullying.
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And of course such a call to the "bully helpline" may not have been about Brown bullying them, even if it was "from Number 10".

I am absolutely sure that working at "Number 10" is extremely stressful and I would very, very surprised to learn that people did not lose their temper from time to time and acted very impatiently and so on however that is far from workplace bullying. Given what I do know about the civil service I would say it is one organisation that really does take even an accusation of bullying very seriously, and has many procedures in place to protect people making such an accusation.
 
It's true, he must keep it shut to avoid his reptilian tongue flailing about.

The Dark Lord is a public figure I quite like having around though.
 
Well Mrs Pratt does seem to have lived up to her name...


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8527881.stm
...snip...

Tory MP Ann Widdecombe has resigned as patron of an anti-bullying charity after it claimed No 10 staff had used its helpline.

She said publicising the phone calls had been a breach of confidentiality.

Prof Cary Cooper and TV presenter Sarah Cawood have also stepped down from the National Bullying Helpline.

...snip...
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Apparently the charity has now lost all of its patrons!
 
Darat said:
And of course such a call to the "bully helpline" may not have been about Brown bullying them, even if it was "from Number 10".

...snip...
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And as a follow-up to this, from the BBC article: She [Mrs Pratt] later clarifies that none of the allegations was about Mr Brown
 
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