Any government adviser who distributes inappropriate material or mounts personal attacks will be sacked under stricter guidelines issued today by Britain's top civil servant.
The move comes after Damian McBride, a senior aide to prime minister Gordon Brown, quit at the weekend after he was caught proposing a series of slurs to embarrass senior Conservatives and their families.
"... It has been made specifically clear that special advisers will automatically be dismissed if they are ever found to be preparing and disseminating inappropriate material," Cabinet Secretary Gus O'Donnell wrote in a letter to Conservative Party chairman Francis Maude.
Mr McBride's actions were a "clear and serious breach" of the code of conduct, Mr O'Donnell added.
"His resignation was accepted immediately and had immediate effect. He has not received severance pay," he added.
The incident has undermined Brown's efforts to build on the success of the G20 summit he hosted this month and start a political recovery ahead of an election due by mid-2010.
It has also prompted criticism of the Labour leadership from several former ministers.
Special advisers have a unique status in political life. Officially civil servants, they are paid from the public purse but are appointed by government ministers and have specific rules governing their conduct.
As of last July, the government had 73 special advisers, 23 of whom worked for the prime minister's office.
Reuters