Sir, – I almost choked on my breakfast cereal with laughter when I read the email excerpts attributed to PR consultant Terry Prone sent to the private office of the Minister for Health (Martin Wall, Front page, April 10th). For a moment I thought it might have been a delayed April Fool’s story, but alas, no.
The cringe-making language used in the emails was only surpassed by the apparent lack of understanding on the part of Ms Prone as to her role as a part-time adviser on speech writing for a Minister. I loved the bit that included: “Bottom line – us being nice isn’t enough . . .”. Us? A speech writer on a fee is just that, a paid retainer putting a speech into a literary and/or speaking format suited to the client’s wishes and style. He/she should have no role whatsoever in drafting notes or directives for civil servants warning them to deliver on time or else. A minister, or departmental secretary general for that matter, who would allow a PR outsider usurp their position is, in my view, not worth his or her salt.
Ms Prone must be aware that serving public and civil servants are prevented from giving a response in the letters pages of newspapers or on the public airwaves, but their union representatives can and should intervene on behalf of their paid-up members to protect their interests.
As a former civil servant who wrote many successful (I hope) ministerial speeches/briefings over the years, I was never subject at any time to school-marmish comments by temporary PR advisers or their ilk, nor would I have accepted same from them. It will be interesting to see if Ms Prone, on mature reflection, might issue an apology to all concerned and confine her BlackBerry use to the contract work for which she is being paid from public funds. – Yours, etc,