Prime Minister erasable ink

Aug 09, 2023

Security concerns have been raised following the discovery that the Prime Minister has been using pens with erasable ink at official meetings and during government business. He has also been seen using the pen to sign letters.

According to a report published by a national newspaper and website, Rishi Sunak routinely uses Pilot V pens when making hand-written notes on official documents and in Cabinet meetings.

The pens are marketed as being unlike most other disposable fountain pens as they have "real tipping, making for a smooth, rounded writing point, and a much more enjoyable writing experience." However, versions of Pilot V pens also use erasable ink.

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The Guardian has reported that the Prime Minister is regularly pictured using the disposable pens — both during his time as chancellor and now as premier. He was most recently seen using the pen to take notes during a Cabinet meeting earlier this month.

He was photographed with the pen while working on government papers and signing official letters in Downing Street, and at international summits — including a meeting of the European political community in Moldova at the beginning of June.

The pens, which cost around £5, carry an “erasable ink” logo and the Japanese stationery company that makes them promotes them as “ideal for those learning to write with ink because if you make a mistake, the ink erases using standard ink eradicators”.

Some observers have noted that Mr Sunak’s use of the pens could mean that his hand-written notes could be erased from official papers that are later lodged in government archives or retrieved to be used to refer to in independent investigations, such as the official Covid inquiry.

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According to No 10, the pens, provided by the Civil Service, are used widely in Whitehall, including by permanent secretaries.

The Guardian reported that the written notes of previous prime ministers have been "an essential resource for historians detailing the inner workings of government at key periods in history". It cited as an example Margaret Thatcher’s handwritten notes, which disclosed her plans for emergency measures at the height of the miners’ strike and Cabinet disagreements over how to respond to Argentina's invasion of the Falklands in 1982.

In the US, presidents use pens with permanent ink to ensure there is no danger of words being erased, fading or being damaged by heat or damp. Mr Sunak’s social media accounts, however, do show him him using permanent ink to actually sign official documents, including an economic agreement with India in October 2020 when he was chancellor.

The Guardian reported that Mr Sunak’s press secretary as saying of the erasable version: “This is a pen provided by and used widely by the Civil Service. The Prime Minister has never used the erase function and nor would he.”

The disclosure follows recent claims of governmental lack of transparency, including a plan to go to court to stop the official Covid inquiry from accessing ministers' WhatsApp messages. The Guardian reported earlier this week that the Government under Mr Sunak had placed a record number of blocks on freedom of information requests in its first three months, leading to accusations of a “concealment culture in government ranks.

Figures show that the Government acceded to information requests in just one third of requests in which it held relevant data. Just 3,895 of 11,597 “resolvable requests” were granted in full. Allies of the Prime Minister have insisted that he has nothing to hide.

Tom Brake, a former Liberal Democrat MP and director of the pressure group Unlock Democracy, told The Guardian: “When trust in politicians is at an all-time low, the PM signing official documents in erasable ink could push it through the floor and into the basement. Erasable ink, lost mobile phones and disappearing WhatsApp messages all add to a picture of a cavalier attitude towards ensuring government is accountable for its actions.”

A Labour source added: “We already know Rishi Sunak is addicted to evasion, whether he’s hiding WhatsApp messages from the Covid inquiry or still refusing to disclose his full tax affairs — so no wonder people are going to be curious about his choice of these pens.

“But no amount of erasable ink can cover up his dismal record of failure and broken promises as chancellor and as prime minister.”