If, as alleged, Premier Dr. Ewart Brown tried to force Kenneth Dill to resign as Head of the Civil Service, then it would appear that he was wrong to do so.

This is not as simple as it might seem, however, and some background is necessary to put this into context.

Until 1998, the Cabinet Secretary was always the head of the civil service as well.

But not long after the Progressive Labour Party came to power, Leo Mills retired as Cabinet Secretary, and the roles were temporarily split, in part to enable the head of the Civil Service to carry out reforms recommended by the UK Civil Service College. At that time, Stanley Oliver was Head of the Civil Service and John Drinkwater was Cabinet Secretary.

When Mr. Oliver retired, Mr. Drinkwater became head of the Civil Service as well, and held both jobs until he retired very soon after Dr. Brown became Premier in 2006.

At that point, Dr. Brown's Permanent Secretary of Tourism and Transport, Mark Telemaque, became Cabinet Secretary and Mr. Dill became Head of the Civil Service.

This matters because the Premier has a good deal of say over who should be Cabinet Secretary under the Constitution; indeed, he makes a choice from a shortlist of qualified candidates prepared by the Public Service Commission. That choice is then given to the Governor who is obliged to accept it and make the appointment.

All of that is understandable; a Premier may well spend more time with the Cabinet Secretary than anyone else in his professional life. It should be someone that he can work with and trust, with all due allowances for the independence and integrity of the civil service.

Curiously though, the Constitution makes no reference to the head of the civil service, and although it deals with the appointment of the Cabinet Secretary, it does not deal with the removal of a person from the position.

But it stands to reason that as the Governor officially makes the appointment of the Cabinet Secretary, at the very least, the Premier would have to ask the Governor to dismiss the Cabinet Secretary or Head of the Civil Service and explain why he wished it to be done.

The Governor might well agree, but only, one would assume, if a case had been made, and one would assume that the Public Service Commission would also have to agree. Ultimately it is the PSC and the Governor who safeguard the independence and neutrality of the civil service.

Indeed, since no cause has apparently been given, one would have thought that this episode should send tremors through the whole civil service – if the head of the civil service can be dismissed at will, then anyone can.

All of this takes place against a backdrop of a civil service which has been increasingly politicised anyway. If this were to stand, then civil servants would become more politicised than ever.

Although the United Bermuda Party claim that $100 million is being spent on consultants each year, is exaggerated, it is true that the Brown administration has made far greater use of consultants embedded in Ministries than any of its predecessors, and this too has weakened the neutrality and independence of the civil service.

Neutrality, independence and integrity are not terms to which mere lip service needs to be paid; they are the bedrock of good governance and ensure that power is not abused in the Bermuda system of governance.

This newspaper does not know why Mr. Dill got his "quit or be fired" letter on Friday; but it has all the hallmarks of an administration which does not believe regular rules apply to it.

And that makes the fact that Dame Jennifer Smith's adherence to party rules last week may have saved Dr. Brown's job all the more ironic. What's good for Dr. Brown is not good for Mr. Dill, apparently.