British prime minister Rishi Sunak has come under spotlight for routinely using pens with erasable ink during his tenure at the Number 10, Downing Street, especially in important government meetings.
According to a Guardian report, the prime minister “regularly” uses an erasable ink pen to write notes on official documents and during government meetings.
Sunak is often seen using the “disposable Pilot V” fountain pens during his time as a as chancellor and prime minister. He was seen using this during the cabinet meeting two weeks ago, Guardian said.
What is concerning was that, Sunak was photographed with the fountain pens while working on some government papers and signing some official letters.
Apart from this, he was also seen with the pen at international summits including a European political community meeting.
Downing street has however, defended the leader saying that the pens were provided by the civil service and are “widely used” in British government departments.
“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,” Sunak’s press secretary said, Guardian reported.
This has raised concerns that Sunak’s writing could be erased from official documents in case of inquiries. It can also leave pieces of important information for historians studying Sunak’s term.
The pens, according to the Japanese stationary that markets it, are “ideal for those learning to write with ink because if you make a mistake, the ink erases using standard ink eradicators”.
“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…” Tom Brake, the director of Unlock Democracy and a former Liberal Democrat MP said.
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