National Bullying Helpline is Suspended

The National Bullying Helpline has just released a statement concerning the future of the organization, in which it states:

"Due to the situation at this time we are temporarily suspending our helpline... We would assure you that we are not politically driven in any way... We are currently considering the future of the charity. Christine Pratt is prepared to resign if necessary."

How did the situation get to this point? How did a leading anti-bullying charity get caught up in a political tit-for-tat?

There have been many rumours circulating recently in the press that Gordon Brown is quick to anger; with unsavoury accusations of furniture kicking, mobile phone throwing and lapel ruffling, the actions of the Prime Minister have been more closely scrutinized than the private lives of Chelsea footballers.

The most recent accusations have been made by former Labour Special Adviser Lance Price in his book, 'Where the Power Lies: Prime Ministers Verses the Media' which was serialised in the Independent, and by Andrew Rawnsley in the book 'The End of the Party' which had extracts printed in the Observer. It is obvious why these newspapers released these stories now, it is the perfect time to maximise circulation ahead of a general election, and given the precarious financial situation of these publications, a much needed shot in the arm. Ditto for the authors, if these books were released in mid election cycle they would cause barely a ripple in the pond of political intrigue.

However, the motives for Christine Pratt's disclosures are much less obvious. Why did the CEO of the National Bullying Helpline break many aspects of their own confidentiality rule to reveal that she had received four to five calls from Downing Street staff complaining of working practices within Number 10? The reason that Mrs Pratt disclosed the information were at best a naive and ill judged attempt to garner national publicity for her charity or, at worst, a cynical, politically motivated attempt to further pressurize the Prime Minister and the Labour Party.

Without the highest level of confidentiality any helpline renders itself redundant. Therefore it is a shame that through whatever her motives, Mrs Pratt has discredited much of the good work that has been undertaken by the National Bullying Helpline over the years and also has deflected a considerable amount of the attention away from Gordon Brown and his 'confrontational' work practices.

Christine Pratt... Indeed.