THE former head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, Sir Kenneth Bloomfield, has admonished Baroness Dent on for her recent criticism of senior Stormont officials.
Sir Kenneth said the former economy minister's complaints against the civil service were ill-informed and "little short of irresponsible".
Sir Kenneth is the latest high-profile figure to join the controversy generated when Baroness Denton complained last week that Northern Ireland civil servants exerted too much influence. She said that information from some civil servants only came to her in "dribs and drabs".
She believed that an attempt was made to keep her away from the decision-making process, adding that Mr Gerry Loughran, the North's most senior Catholic civil servant, had advised her to "pack her bags" during a sectarian harassment case at her office.
In yesterday's Belfast Telegraph Sir Kenneth said he was responding to Baroness Dent on because civil servants were precluded from such action due to bureaucratic conventions. This made them an "easy target" for criticism but as a retired civil servant he did not face any such inhibitions.
He said Baroness Denton had "completely misunderstood the constitutional relationship between Northern Ireland and British ministers under direct rule". He said that, contrary to the impression conveyed by the baroness, Northern Ireland civil servants were prepared to take risks.
