SCOTTISH Office officials have had their work over aspects of the

Fyfe-Peterken affair publicly criticised by Sir Robin Butler, the head

of the home Civil Service, and their departmental head, Sir Russell

Hillhouse.

In a letter to

Shadow Scottish Secretary George Robertson, Sir Robin said that Sir

Russell, Permanent Secretary at the Scottish Office, had apologised to

Scottish Ministers because ''a number of

actions and processes were handled by the officials concerned less

well than he would have expected.''

Sir Russell told Sir Robin he was taking action designed to prevent

any recurrence.

Mr Robertson said Ministers still appeared to be refusing to take

responsibility for failure either of themselves or the system they

control. ''This is a Government where Ministers say -- I didn't see the

papers, I wasn't there, guilty but sound asleep.''

He said uncertainties still surrounded the sacking of Mr Laurence

Peterken as chief executive of Greater Glasgow Health Board by Mr Bill

Fyfe, then board chairman, who subsequently resigned.

At the centre of the ''actions and processes'' so unusually criticised

was the sending of a letter, on August 6 last year, from the Scottish

Office to the Treasury inquiring about the possibility of a financial

package being offered to Mr Peterken if he was removed from office.

Sir Robin's letter said the letter ''attributed detailed views to

Ministers at variance with views they had expressed and to which they

would not have subscribed had they been consulted.''

It was signed by Mr Gavin Anderson, then acting head of the NHS in

Scotland. Sir Robin denied that he had since been demoted at Ministers'

request.

He said Mr Geoff Scaife, who became chief executive in September last

year, decided early in November that there was no need for the deputy

chief post and ''senior management'' moved Mr Anderson to the Social

Work Services Group. Although a lower, Grade 5 post, Mr Anderson

retained his higher Grade 4 and salary.