Keir Starmer finally confirmed he had sacked the head of the Civil Service today amid a furious Whitehall row over who should replace him.
The Cabinet Office tonight said Sir Chris Wormald has stood down as Cabinet Secretary ‘by mutual agreement’, the Cabinet Office said.
But he is to be replaced on an interim basis in the £220,000 post by not one but three senior mandarins.
Dame Antonia Romeo, who had been widely tipped to be in line for Sir Chris Wormald’s former job, Catherine Little and James Bowler will share the responsibilities of Cabinet Secretary for an interim period.
It came after an astonishing intervention row over Dame Antonia’s appointment that saw former top diplomat Lord McDonald of Salford has taken the highly unusual step of publicly warning No10 against the move.
The peer insisted Dame Antonia must not be parachuted into the post without a fresh vetting process, given she was investigated for bullying when she was HM Consul General in New York a decade ago. A probe found no wrongdoing.
In a short statement, The Prime Minister said he was ‘grateful’ for Sir Chris’s ‘long and distinguished career of public service’ and his ‘support’ as Cabinet Secretary, having only taken up the position 14 months ago.
Sir Keir added: ‘I have agreed with him that he will step down as Cabinet Secretary today. I wish him the very best for the future.’
Dame Antonia Romero is a frontrunner to replace Chris Wormald as Cabinet Secretary but Lord McDonald has warned against her appointment
Keir Starmer has been urged not to rush through the 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. It can’t be chosen on the fly.’