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You couldn't make it up!

In a move that is pure Yes Minister, the Cabinet Secretary has ordered a leak inquiry into the leak of a letter he wrote warning civil servants not to leak and threatening those who are caught leaking with the sack.

No... honestly!

The letter was written by Sir Jeremy Heywood, who is dubbed "Sir Cover-Up" over his reputation for Whitehall secrecy and is the current holder of the post held by the fictional Sir Humphrey Appleby in the TV comedy.

Under the heading "Official: Sensitive", Sir Jeremy began by saying: "Leaking is corrosive and undermines trust and good government."

And he said Theresa May had directed "that we urgently tighten security processes".

But less that a week after it was written on 28 November, the whole letter appeared across pages 1, 4 and 5 of The Mail on Sunday, under the headline: "Panic in No 10 over Cabinet Brexit leaks".

Now, asked whether an inquiry would be launched into the unauthorised release of Sir Jeremy's memo, the Prime Minister's official spokeswoman confirmed that a leak inquiry is under way.

"The usual process for leaks is being followed," she said.

"Action is being taken to follow up and investigate that. There will be investigations and appropriate action taken if perpetrators are identified."

The spokeswoman added that unauthorised disclosures were taken "extremely seriously" and that the Civil Service code made clear how officials should behave with regard to classified information.

In his letter, Sir Jeremy warned that leakers who are caught face the sack.

"Anyone found to have leaked sensitive information will be dismissed even where there is no compromise of national security," he wrote.

And he concluded: "The Prime Minister will be writing in similar terms to ministers."

But did that mean ministers who leak could face the sack from the Cabinet? Civil Service union leaders certainly think they should.

In Yes Minister, which was Margaret Thatcher's favourite TV show, Sir Humphrey famously said: "The ship of state is the only ship that leaks from the top."

James Hacker, the hapless cabinet minister and later prime minister in Yes, Prime Minister, said about leaks: "I occasionally have confidential press briefings, but I have never leaked."

According to a Civil Service union leader, it is more likely that a politician, not a civil servant, was responsible for the leak of Sir Jeremy's letter to The Mail on Sunday.

"Ask any journalist worth their salt and they'll tell you that the vast majority of leaks emanate from politicians," said the general secretary of the First Division Association union, Dave Penman.

"Indications have been given that the Prime Minister will issue a parallel and similarly robust statement outlining that any politician found to have leaked will face a similar sanction. This would be both welcome and appropriate.

"Civil servants are being threatened with the loss of their livelihood if they are caught leaking. A similar sanction should apply to politicians, not simply the loss of the trappings of ministerial office."

Sir Jeremy, however, will no doubt be familiar with another famous saying of Sir Humphrey Appleby: "Minister, two basic rules of government: Never look into anything you don't have to.

"And never set up an inquiry unless you know in advance what its findings will be."