Matt Weaver
Monday June 12, 2006
This is the sort of story we all love to read - some idiot has been caught doing something daft - and we wonder "Why can't our office be as interesting as that?"
Civil servants who were supposed to be administering the government's much-criticised farm subsidies system have been taking part in 'depraved' office pranks such as leaping naked from filing cabinets.
The beleaguered Rural Payment Agency has begun an investigation into the behaviour of its staff at its Newcastle office, which allegedly included leaving cups of vomit in cupboards, taking drugs, having sex in toilets and holding breakdancing competitions during office hours.
The agency, which delayed the payment of £1.5bn worth of European subsidies to thousands of farmers, said it has so far sacked one junior member of staff over the allegations.
It is also disciplining others over what staff have describe as a real life Ricky Gervais office, only worse.
Some of the pranks were caught on CCTV in the office where more than 900 people are employed.
And here's a good one from Scaryduck's blog
I am indebted to Hellybobs for sending me this link: 'Depraved' civil servants play naked office pranks, while the BBC reports on "Probe into 'naked civil servants'", which would certainly bring a tear to the eye.
Civil servants who were supposed to be administering the government's much-criticised farm subsidies system have been taking part in 'depraved' office pranks such as leaping naked from filing cabinets.
The beleaguered Rural Payments Agency has begun an investigation into the behaviour of its staff at its Newcastle office, which allegedly included leaving cups of vomit in cupboards, taking drugs, having sex in toilets and holding break-dancing competitions during office hours.
The Rural Payments Agency was previously called the Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce, and was based at premises in Reading where bored civil servants would spend their working days doing anything to avoid the chore of actual work. One particular favourite was chatting up that nice girl in Beef Stats, then marrying her.
The Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce were foolish enough to employ both myself and the charming Mrs Duck during the late 1980s, not to mention virtually every single unemployable misfit that the town of Reading had to offer at the time. In fact, such was the criticism of the entire establishment, it actually moved to Newcastle and change its name in a doomed attempt to escape the shame. Unfortunately, many of the staff took up the offer to relocate, and by the sound of things, they're still there.
