We laid Bob Kerslake to rest this week. Think of him - and give the civil service the respect it deserves | Polly Toynbee

Whitehall is not perfect, but neither is it the Blob demonised by the right. This man's life and work should give it pause The sense of loss tumbled out in anecdotes exchanged after Wednesday's funeral of Bob Kerslake, the former head of the civil service and one of the greatest public servants of our era. The words recurred: integrity, decency, a force to be reckoned with, far-sighted, driven by values of social justice and equality, a wise adviser, kind, reflective, funny, humble, sensitive, r...