Civil Service chief Chris Wormald is sacked by Keir Starmer as he throws another aide under bus ‘to save his own skin’ on another day of chaos in No 10
Sir Keir Starmer was accused of throwing another senior figure ‘under the bus’ to save himself as he confirmed today that he had sacked the head of the Civil Service.
The Prime Minister tonight confirmed that Sir Chris Wormald has left his role as Cabinet Secretary ‘by mutual agreement’, following days of speculation that he would be sacked after just 14 months in the job.
He is the latest person to be ousted from Downing Street in the wake of the Peter Mandelson scandal, following chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and communications director Tim Allen.
But amid a huge row in Whitehall over Sir Chris’s successor, he will be replaced by not one but three senior mandarins in the £220,000 role on an interim basis.
Dame Antonia Romeo, the Home Office permanent secretary who has been widely tipped to take over, will share the responsibilities of Cabinet Secretary on an interim basis with senior Cabinet Office official Catherine Little and senior Treasury official James Bowler.
It comes amid a surprising row over the appointment of Dame Antonia as Sir Chris’ permanent successor, with former top diplomat Lord McDonald of Salford taking the highly unusual step of publicly warning No 10 against the move.
This precedent insisted that Dame Antonia should not have been parachuted into the post of Cabinet Secretary without a new vetting process, given that she had been investigated for bullying while Consul-General in New York a decade ago. The investigation found no wrongdoing.
In a brief statement on Thursday evening, the Prime Minister said he was ‘grateful’ for Sir Chris’ ‘long and distinguished career of public service’ and his ‘support’ as Cabinet Secretary.
The Cabinet Office said tonight that Sir Chris Wormald has left his role as Cabinet Secretary ‘by mutual agreement’
Dame Antonia Romero is among the frontrunners to replace Chris Wormald as Cabinet Secretary
Sir Keir Starmer urged not to rush into appointment of Dame Antonia
Lord McDonald, who was permanent secretary at the Foreign Office for five years until 2020, told Channel 4 News: ‘This is the most important job in the civil service. ‘Cannot be selected instantly’
Sir Keir added: ‘I agreed with him that he will step down as Cabinet Secretary today. I wish him the best for the future.’
But Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, amid a fierce row over Lord Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador, said Sir Chris was “the last person Keir Starmer threw under the bus to save his own life”.
And in his own statements released by the Government, Sir Chris did not thank the Prime Minister by name.
Now it’s your turn to win £250,000 and make history as one of the shortest-serving Cabinet Secretaries.
Sir Chris said: ‘It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as a civil servant for the past 35 years and a special privilege to lead that service as Cabinet Secretary.
‘I would like to place on record my sincere thanks to the extraordinary civil servants, public servants, ministers and advisors with whom I have worked.
‘Our country is very lucky to have such dedicated individuals dedicated to public service and I wish them every success in the future.’
Bizarrely, Downing Street this morning refused to say who the Cabinet Secretary was, although the Prime Minister’s spokesman insisted at the time that there was still a Secretary.
The decision to temporarily give the job to three people is understood to have been taken before Lord McDonald’s intervention last night and set a precedent while Sir Chris’s predecessor, Simon Case, was seriously ill.
Crossbench colleague Lord McDonald, who was permanent secretary at the Foreign Office for five years until 2020, told Channel 4 News: ‘This is the most important job in the civil service. ‘Cannot be selected instantly.’
Referring to Lord Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador despite his links to Jeffrey Epstein, he said: ‘The Prime Minister has had bitter recent experience of doing due diligence too late. Repeating this mistake would be an unnecessary tragedy.’
A government source said: ‘This criticism has absolutely no basis.
‘Antonia Romeo is a highly respected Permanent Secretary with a 25-year record of excellent public service. The allegations all come from a single complaint filed by a former employee some time ago. All claims were dismissed on the grounds that there was no case to answer.’
Another government source told The Times: ‘This is a desperate attempt by a senior male official whose time has passed but who has spent his career trying to get Britain into the mess it is in today.
‘A computer says there is no culture that cannot challenge the status quo.
‘Antonia is a blocker. He is not content with the status quo. He is one of the few senior officials who have always fought against the computer, saying there is no culture embedded in the British state.
‘In light of the crisis we face as a country, Antonia is exactly the leadership the civil service needs to restructure the state, take on vested interests and embrace systemic reform to serve the British people.’
Sir Keir, who appointed Sir Chris to the £220,000-a-year job in December 2024, praised him as “exceptional” and the right choice to “lead” change.
“There is no one better placed than Chris to take forward our Plan for Change and I look forward to working with him as we deliver on the mandate of this new government, improving the lives of working people and strengthening our country through a decade of national renewal,” the Prime Minister said.
Sir Chris was drafted in to replace Simon Case (now Lord Case), who received a £200,000 severance deal.
However, there are persistent rumors of tensions in briefings from No 10, with senior officials delaying reforms.
Sir Chris was also accused by Gordon Brown of failing to conduct an adequate investigation into the New Labor architect’s correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein.
