LIZ TRUSS has come under fire for a new plan targeting “woke civil service culture that strays into antisemitism”. 

Dave Penman, the general secretary of the FDA union, which represents senior civil and public servants, called the comments “insulting and abhorrent”.

The remarks came as the foreign secretary made a pitch to Jewish voters in the Tory leadership campaign. 

In a written statement issued after she spoke at a synagogue in Manchester, Ms Truss insisted the culture in the Civil Service can be “changed”.

Though the Foreign Secretary did not give examples, reports suggest the line is a reference to council pension funds that participate in the Boycott, Dvestment, Sanctions (BDS) campaign that calls for organisations to cut ties with Israel.

Ms Truss said: “Every organisation has its culture, but it’s not fixed, it can be changed.

“That’s what ministerial leadership is about: it’s about making sure that the policies we represent, the values we stand for, are reflected in what we do.”

She added that the relationship between the UK and Israel has “grown in standing” over the past year, but insisted there is “still more to do”, including completing a free-trade deal.

Ms Truss said: “So many Jewish values are Conservative values and British values too, for example seeing the importance of family and always taking steps to protect the family unit; and the value of hard work and self-starting and setting up your own business.

“The British Jewish community is incredibly proud of this country and so are Conservatives,” she added. 

Mr Penman said: “The Conservatives have been in Government for more than 12 years now and, for most of that time, Liz Truss has been a minister.

“So accusations of ‘civil service wokeism’ are a little ironic, given it’s essentially a criticism of their own leadership.

“However, Truss’s accusation of antisemitism goes further than the usual dog-whistle politics that has been on display during this leadership campaign when it comes to the Civil Service.

“She provides no evidence for her accusation that many civil servants will find both insulting and abhorrent.

“A prime minister is also minister for the Civil Service, and throwing around such unfounded inflammatory accusations illustrates a lack of leadership, the very thing that she claims to be demonstrating.”

The Foreign Secretary previously told the Conservative Friends of Israel that as Prime Minister she would consider following in the footsteps of Donald Trump and move the UK’s embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.