Covid campaigners blast new civil service boss over pandemic document
The official who led the Department of Health during the pandemic has been appointed as the new head of the civil service.
Keir Starmer named Sir Chris Wormald as the new Whitehall chief and tasked him with “nothing less than the complete re-wiring of the British state”. Sir Chris joined the Civil Service in 1991 and held a number of senior posts before becoming permanent secretary at the Department of Health in 2016.
But his appointment was branded “unbelievably frustrating and worrisome” by Covid-19 victims campaigners over his record leading the Department of Health during the pandemic. It also comes after the Prime Minister himself repeatedly described the NHS as “broken” and “on its face”.
Announcing the move, Mr Starmer said: “I am delighted that Chris Wormald has agreed to become the next Cabinet Secretary. He brings a wealth of experience to this role at a critical moment in the work of change this new Government has begun. To change this country, we must change the way government serves this country. That is what mission-led government will do.
“From breaking down silos across government to harnessing the incredible potential of technology and innovation, it will require nothing less than the complete re-wiring of the British state to deliver bold and ambitious long-term reform.”
Sir Chris, who will take up the role on December 16, said: “I am delighted that the Prime Minister has appointed me to the privileged role of leading our talented Civil Service, as we rise to the challenge of delivering the Government’s focused agenda to deliver its Plan for Change. The Government has set a clear mandate – an ambitious agenda with working people at its heart. That will require each and every one of us to embrace the change agenda in how the British state operates.
His appointment comes after former chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance told the Covid Inquiry last year that he had been reprimanded by top officials, including Sir Chris, when he said urgent action needed to be taken in mid-March 2020 to stop the spread of the virus.
Internal messages shared with the Inquiry from March 2020 also showed that Sir Chris appeared to agree with the then-Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill that Covid should be treated like chicken pox, with people encouraged to catch it.
Barbara Herbert, of Covid 19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK, said: “It is unbelievably frustrating and worrisome to see the Government appoint Sir Christopher Wormald to the most senior civil service position in the UK, given his role at the head of the DHSC at a time when the NHS became completely overwhelmed, healthcare workers were sent to work without adequate PPE and lied to about it, and the UK suffered the second highest death toll in Western Europe.
“Time and again Christopher Wormald has refused in the UK Covid Inquiry to accept failures on behalf of the DHSC, despite irrefutable evidence to the contrary, backed up by the experiences of everyone in the UK during the pandemic.
“Christopher Wormald failed to prepare the Department for Health and Social Care for the pandemic, despite a pandemic being entirely foreseeable. Now he has been given responsibility for the crisis preparedness across the Government.”
He will take over from Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, who is stepping down at the end of the year on health grounds. Mr Case repeatedly hit the headlines after finding himself embroiled in the Partygate scandal. He was forced to step aside from leading a probe into lockdown-busting bashes after it emerged that a Christmas quiz had been held in his office, which he didn’t attend.
Mr Case also had to apologise for saying Boris Johnson “cannot lead” and “the people he chooses to surround himself with are basically feral” in WhatsApps handed to the Covid Inquiry. In the messages, Mr Case said Mr Johnson was in “danger of becoming Trump/Bolsonaro level mad and dangerous” and joked that “the real person in charge is Carrie”, the then-PM’s partner.
