A former top diplomat has made a dramatic attempt to stop Sir Keir Starmer putting a controversial mandarin in charge of the civil service.
Lord McDonald of Salford revealed he has warned No10 against Dame Antonia Romeo being made Cabinet Secretary.
He said it was ‘extraordinary’ the Prime Minister was planning to replace Sir Chris Wormald in the key role just 14 months after appointing him.
And he said there must be scrutiny of Dame Antonia, who has been dubbed the ‘Queen of Woke‘, given she was investigated for bullying when she was HM Consul General in New York a decade ago. A probe found no wrongdoing.
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.’
In a reference to Lord Mandelson being appointed US Ambassador in spite of his links to Jeffrey Epstein, the crossbench peer said: ‘The Prime Minister has recent bitter experience of doing the due diligence too late. It would be an unnecessary tragedy to repeat that mistake.’
If he goes, Sir Chris, left, would be in line for a £250,000 payoff barely a year after being chosen to ‘rewire the state’. He has been accused of holding up reforms and of failing to run an adequate probe into Mandelson’s correspondence with Epstein.
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.
Critiques are warning Sir Keir Starmer, pictured yesterday, not to choose Dame Antonia Romero as the next Cabinet Secretary
Dame Antonia Romero, dubbed the ‘Queen of Woke’, is a frontrunner to replace Chris Wormold as Cabinet Secretary but Lord McDonald has warned against her appointment
‘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.
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’.
Chris Wormald is being ousted as Cabinet Secretary after reported holdups on delivering reforms and being accused of running a less-than-adequate probe into Mandelson’s correspondence with Epstein. He is in line for a £250,000 payoff
‘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.
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.