EXC: Senior civil servants at a govt dept have advised staff on what to do if they’re asked to work on policy which might break int law and civil service code. I’ve seen emails which say if they’re asked to do anything “inappropriate” they’re to tell their managers “immediately”.

More info below. The senior civil servants included a link to the civil service code which says civil servants must uphold the law. Emails were sent in specific response to the Internal Market Bill before Parliament. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-54161951

This will inevitably be a very difficult line for civil servants to tread. They might potentially be faced with a conflict between UK domestic and international law. Cabinet Sec had apparently deferred to AG’s advice. But especially in Brexit facing depts, charged with...

...implementing Withdrawal Agreement and NI protocol, the competing obligations for civil servants is proving v difficult to manage and could come to be more more difficult still.

. @FDAGenSec tells me: “Civil servants have a duty to serve the government of the day, they do not want to feel that in doing so they are being asked to break their professional obligations and therefore need urgent reassurance that this is not what is being expected of them.”

More to come on tonight’s @BBCNewsnight. Tune in- bbc2 shortly!