Boris Johnson has criticised a controversial Government ruling to stop 430,000 civil servants talking to journalists . The Mayor of London raised concerns about a change to the civil service code , quietly introduced last week , which makes it clear that officials can be sacked if they speak out before checking with a minister . Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude agreed to redraft guidance to ‘ strengthen protection ’ for those speaking out to blow the whistle on scandals or abuses of public money , and include a commitment to being ‘ as open as possible ’ with Parliament and the public . The Mayor of London , pictured during a visit to Kew Gardens last week , disagrees with the new rule to stop civil servants speaking to the press . However , that has failed to satisfy critics who have asked why such a change has been enforced just before the general election campaign . Mr Johnson , a former journalist , told the Daily Mail : ‘ I believe in maximum possible transparency . Sunlight is the best disinfectant . ‘ There ’ s virtually nothing that you can say or do that isn ’ t instantly FOI-able . Although it ’ s painful and difficult for politicians , it ’ s a bloody good thing . It does lead actually to better government . I ’ m in favour of people being able to discuss things as freely as they can . ‘ When I look back at my time in City Hall , it ’ s quite incredible how I took over an operation staffed overwhelmingly by people who didn ’ t share my political views . They have been loyal . Do we get people trying to brief the media ? Absolutely not . Mr Johnson said he believed in 'maximum possible transparency ' ‘ Most civil servants understand that there ’ s a difference between being useful and helping public debate , and undermining the operation that they are in . I ’ m in favour of transparency. ’ Mr Johnson said he was concerned that there would be a repeat of the post-Leveson ‘ chill ’ between the media and the police , which he described as ‘ crazy ’ . ‘ One of the difficulties that there has been is in the case of relations between police and the media . Relations between police and the media have always been pretty free , ’ he said . ‘ Publicity is one of the utensils of crime-fighting , ’ he said . Mr Johnson raised wider questions about historic police investigations , such as those going on into child abuse allegations dating back decades . ‘ One thing I am concerned about is the extent to which police time and resources can be devoted to what you might call policing the past - policing previous police investigations into what may or may not have been criminal offences , ’ he said . ‘ We have got to be careful . I can see the huge sensitivities , and there may be people out there who feel they have been victims . But we also need to fight everyday crimes of violence and burglary. ’ The Cabinet Office insists that the amendment to the civil service code will not affect contacts between journalists and press officers or advisers who regularly speak to the media . They insist the new provision simply ‘ clarifies ’ current practice , and say whistleblowers have legal protections . The change appears have been agreed by Sir Jeremy Heywood , the Cabinet Secretary , who has been dubbed Sir Cover Up over the long delays to the Chilcot Report into the Iraq War . However , the impetus is understood to have come from ministers , who wanted to control the flow of information from departments to make clear that they , not civil servants , are ultimately in charge . A Government source insisted : ‘ We would be deeply concerned if there was a chilling effect which limited the ability of Parliament and the Press to expose waste and wrongdoing ’ .
Mayor disagrees with rule to stop civil servants speaking to the press . Officials can be sacked if they speak out before checking with a minister . Parliament minister Francis Maude has agreed to redraft code .