Labour public life standard blasted

In a series of papers over the coming weeks, the Better Government Initiative will paint a picture of widespread waste and interference by Government ministers, a newspaper claimed.

Constant change in public services from the NHS and education to the armed forces has led to demoralisation and chaos, the papers will claim.

The reports have been drawn up from discussions over the past three years by a group including former senior civil servants and military commanders, retired ambassadors and ex-Cabinet ministers as well as senior businessmen and academics.

They will accuse Downing Street and the Treasury of trying to "micromanage" services and undermining "mutual trust" with civil servants and conclude that there are "too many disappointments and failures" in legislation.

A paper on the Foreign Office states: "Constant change, often couched in impenetrable jargon has had a depressing effect on morale. People feel that they no longer feel they know whether they are coming or going, that they are unappreciated and ignored... This is not management in any real sense, it is certainly not leadership and it undermines the effectiveness of the organisation."

The group, which has held three conferences at Ditchley Park, includes former chief of defence staff Sir Michael Jackson, ex-ambassador to Iraq Sir Jeremy Greenstock, Sir Rodric Braithwaite, former chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, and Bob Ayling, the former British Airways boss.

Lord Butler, the former Cabinet Secretary, is one of five former permanent secretaries of Whitehall departments who have been involved.

Former Government adviser Sir Christopher Foster, who has organised the Initiative, described Tony Blair as "the worst Prime Minister since Lord North" - PM from 1770 to 1782, whose tenure saw the American War of Independence and was ended by a vote of no confidence - because of his tendency to govern through "eye-catching initiatives" rather than thought-through policies.

And he warned there were tough times ahead for Gordon Brown: "There are a lot of things he's inherited - some of which no doubt he can be blamed for himself - that are coming back to haunt him."