The shake-up of the government's defense science center at Porton Down has severely damaged morale and damaged critical science work that supports national security, a senior whistleblower has told the Guardian.
The whistleblower said they were raising concerns in the public interest that the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), based primarily at Porton Down in Wiltshire, had been left in paralyzing limbo by the changes.
They said staff morale and productivity had been impacted by a program to “remove” hundreds of jobs and require people to reapply for positions. hindering scientific research and potentially compromising safety.
An organization that is an independent body Ministry of Defenseis responsible for cutting-edge science and technology that helps military and national security, working on incidents such as the Salisbury poisoning by Russian agents and responding to the Covid pandemic. It has about 4,800 employees.
The Ministry of Defense did not dispute that the organizational changes had an impact on morale, but stressed that there were no cuts as a result of the “removal” of positions.
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The whistleblower's claims that employees were alarmed by the shake-up at DSTL were bolstered by union sources and leaked staff survey data from the organization.
The most recent staff survey released internally by DSTL found its “engagement index” to be at an all-time low of 43%, compared with 57% for the National Ordnance Directors group and 64% for the civil service as a whole.
In addition, a recent Workforce Safety Study conducted by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration ranked DSTL last among the 1% of public service and private sector organizations compared in terms of whether employees believe they have the “resources to work safely.”
The whistleblower said the shake-up has left the entire organization in limbo, aggravated by recruitment controls imposed on November 3. They said: “They treat us like a bunch of replaceable men in gray suits, when we are a diverse team of the world's leading scientific experts passionate about keeping our country safe. It will take a decade to recover from our losses.”
“It's been nine months since DSTL has been looking at its navel and worrying about its structure. At times we have been unable to do real science. There are real things we want to achieve, but the organization is worried about its shape, it has lost its priority in the field of science and technology to support our country.
“Everyone at the top level is distracted by the changes and we've been in limbo for over six months now, which is a huge period of time. This has led to people becoming dissatisfied and leaving. A lot of people who don't leave are demotivated and can't do their jobs.”
The whistleblower said the push for change came from chief executive Paul Hollinshead and in recent months he had told staff they needed to improve health and safety or risk losing their license to operate.
The DSTL shake-up is part of a wider defense overhaul in Whitehall, described as the biggest in 50 years. One of DSTL's goals was to improve its safety record, with government sources saying it was already among the top defense organizations for safety, with a very low accident rate.
Whitehall sources also disputed the idea that the changes had reduced capacity and said staff turnover in the organization had been low.
A Ministry of Defense spokesman said: “As a result of this work, not a single reduction or forced departure of employees occurred.
“DSTL, which is now part of the National Director of Armaments team as we pursue defense reform, is on track to meet its key defense and security requirements this year, such as conducting the latest successful DragonFire laser trials and the UK's largest trials of artificial intelligence and autonomous systems.
“Through the biggest defense reforms in more than 50 years, we are strengthening our ability to anticipate and respond to evolving threats, including raising our security standards.
“Our people remain the backbone of DSTL and their dedication has ensured that our results this year are better than last year.”
