They’re taking the fun out of political memoirs

I bet when Christopher Meyer wrote DC Confidential — his account of serving as the UK Ambassador to the US during the initial stages of the Iraq war — he thought he was getting some important things off his chest. And well he might, but he’s also primarily responsible for a new government crackdown on political memoirs:

The Government plans to seize the profits from books written by former civil servants and political advisers to deter officials from publishing their memoirs.

Sir Gus O’Donnell, the Cabinet Secretary, has asked the Treasury Solicitors, the Government’s legal advisers, to draw up proposals to ensure the copyright on information gathered by officials during their work lies with the Government.

Sir Gus said: “One reason why I am looking at the civil service code is to ensure that what is confidential remains confidential … We would be in a terrible state either if we shy away from giving the best advice or if ministers don’t ask for it because they think any conversations would be recorded later.”

So did Meyer, as government officials believe, do “lasting damage to the relationship between ministers and their officials”? It remains to be seen what effect the book really had, but I’m not sure how readily enforceable this provision may end up being. Anyone with more qualified thoughts is welcome to share, of course.

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