‘Stonewall’s fingerprints’ found all over Scots civil service recruitment process

The employment and promotion of senior civil servants in Scotland has been unduly influenced by Stonewall, according to women’s rights campaigners.

Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act show that in 2016, the controversial LGBT lobby group trained Government officials who were subsequently responsible for recruiting scores of senior managers.

Last year, the Scottish Civil Service was found to be pushing a range of pro-Stonewall policies under the group’s discredited ‘Diversity Champions’ scheme.

Institutional capture

The Times reports that in 2018, Stonewall-inspired roadshows took place in Government buildings in Scotland, promoting LGBT rights.

The roadshows coincided with an internal push by Scotland’s top civil servant Leslie Evans to secure promotion for the Government in Stonewall’s ‘best LGBT employer’ league.

In response, Susan Smith of the women’s rights group For Women Scotland, said: “We have been worried about the extent of capture in the Scottish civil service and the over-reliance on lobby groups when drafting policy, with predictable results.”

Alba Party Councillor and women’s rights campaigner Caroline McAllister agreed, saying: “We are seeing an erosion of our democracy and an erosion of standards.” She added: “Everybody is entitled to lobby the Scottish government but not when they are funded by them.”

Exposed

Stonewall recently announced that it was ditching advice given to organisations, including the Scottish Government, that said they should replace the word ‘mother’ with a gender-neutral alternative.

In October, BBC Radio’s Nolan Investigates exposed the widespread influence of the LGBT lobby group on national governments and institutions.

BBC journalists Stephen Nolan and David Thompson found that politicians, civil servants and public bodies across the UK had unquestioningly accepted controversial and often misleading advice from Stonewall which shaped key policies.