Counting the price of Keir’s errors: Cabinet Secretary ‘in line for £250,000 payoff’ barely a 12 months after PM selected him to ‘rewire the British state’

On Feb 11, 2026

Published: 11:32, 11 February 2026 | Updated: 16:11, 11 February 2026

The Cabinet Secretary is in line for a £250,000 payoff barely a year after Keir Starmer chose him to ‘rewire the state’, it was claimed today.

Chris Wormald is said to be in negotiations over an exit package as the extraordinary exodus from Downing Street continues in the wake of the Mandelson meltdown.

Appointing Sir Chris to the £220,000-a-year job in December 2024, Sir Keir lavished praise on him as ‘exceptional’ the right option to ‘drive’ change.

‘There could be no-one better placed to drive forward our Plan For Change than Chris, and I look forward to working with him as we fulfil the mandate of this new government, improving the lives of working people and strengthening our country with a decade of national renewal,’ the premier said.

Sir Chris was drafted in to replace Simon Case – now Lord Case – who received a £200,000 severance deal.

However, there have been persistent rumours of tensions, with briefings apparently from No10 suggesting the top mandarin has been holding up reforms.

Sir Chris has also been accused by Gordon Brown of failing to run an adequate probe into the New Labour architect’s correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein.

Chris Wormald is widely expected to join the exodus from Downing Street as the PM struggles to cling on after the Mandelson scandal

Sir Chris was only appointed in December 2024. Sir Keir lavished praise on him as the right option to ‘drive’ change

Home Office mandarin Antonia Romeo – whose application was snubbed by Sir Keir in 2024 – is now being tipped as the next Cabinet Secretary.

Downing Street refused to comment on whether Sir Chris is being replaced by Dame Antonia. He could become one of the shortest serving Cabinet Secretaries.

Tory former Cabinet minister Lord Gove said: The treatment of Chris Wormald is a disgrace.’

He said he worked with Sir Chris at the Department for Education, and he was ‘a dedicated public servant who diligently executed a coherent reform programme’.

‘The PM chose Chris from a strong field and now this – it’s many things but it’s not leadership,’ he added.

The chaotic wrangling raises fresh doubts about Sir Keir’s judgment, as he struggles to cling on in power.

The premier’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and communications director Tim Allan have already resigned in the past few days.

There are also continuing questions about national security chief Jonathan Powell, who is said to have encouraged Sir Keir to appoint Lord Mandelson as US ambassador.

Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) revealed that Sir Chris had been due to attend a meeting with them yesterday ‘but was unavailable at the last minute’.

The top official at the Cabinet Office, Catherine Little, instead attended in his place as the ISC discussed the release of files relating to Lord Mandelson.

Lord Beamish, the ISC chairman, revealed the government had yet to release any papers for it to decide which can be made public – despite the PM committing to publishing the documents last Wednesday.

He said: ‘The Committee has requested that those papers relating to the vetting and appointment of Lord Mandelson are prioritised for release to the Committee.’

Sir Keir is said to have been impressed by Dame Antonia’s handling of the small boats crisis at the Home Office.

Westminster insiders have suggested Dame Antonia will not apply for the job again, but would only accept if she is handed the role without another process. The Civil Service Commission would decide on whether one is necessary.

Home Office mandarin Antonia Romeo is now being tipped as the next head of the civil service – barely a year after her application was snubbed by Sir Keir

Glamorous high-flyer who mixed with the A List in New York

Antonia Romeo is a Civil Service high-flyer who rubbed shoulders with celebrities during her time as Consul General in the US.

During her time in New York, where she promoted British interests and UK trade, Mrs Romeo hosted a series of glitzy parties for celebrity figures including Calvin Klein, Anna Wintour, Joanna Lumley and the now-disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.

But it prompted an investigation after the now 51-year-old mother of three was accused of bullying staff and misusing expenses in 2017.

The Oxford graduate faced claims she had ‘terrorised’ staff who criticised her extravagant lifestyle and reportedly lavish spending.

Allegations of questionable spending of taxpayers’ money included more than £120,000 in fees for her three children at an upmarket New York school which had not been approved by the Foreign Office, expensive taxis and more than a dozen flights, some business class.

Officials in New York were said to be particularly aggrieved by a last-minute flight booked to London in February 2017 so that Mrs Romeo could attend that year’s Bafta awards where she rubbed shoulders with entertainment industry stars.

The cost of sending expensive bouquets of flowers to British celebrities, including Victoria Beckham, formed part of a dossier of allegations against Mrs Romeo compiled in early 2017.

Her allies insist that the spending was all part of her job to promote the UK, but some former colleagues believe she was more intent on furthering her own personal brand, rather than the UK’s interests.

Mrs Romeo was subsequently found to have no case to answer by the Cabinet Office and was promoted a few weeks later to permanent secretary at the Department for International Trade. Last year the Cabinet Office said: ‘These allegations were made some time ago, were thoroughly investigated and were dismissed on the basis there was no case to answer.’

In 2020 she was believed to have been among the frontrunners to become head of the Civil Service as Cabinet Secretary. But she missed out and the role went to Simon Case, a former aide to Prince William.

She missed out again at the end of 2024, when Chris Wormald was handed the job.

Keir Starmer