"Kemi Badenoch has written to the regulator of civil service appointments urging them to stop Sir Keir Starmer from sacking the cabinet secretary until after documents relating to Lord Mandelson have been published. Sir Chris Wormald, who is head of the Civil Service, is understood to be negotiating an exit package from the job to which he was appointed by the PM in December 2024."
"In her letter to the First Civil Service Commissioner, the Tory leader said there should be a "full new process" to select his replacement. Badenoch described Sir Chris as "the latest person to be thrown under a bus by this prime minister". She said that since the cabinet secretary is overseeing the government's release of documents demanded by Parliament about Lord Mandelson's appointment as US ambassador, his removal should wait until after that is complete."
"In her letter Badenoch also referred to an interview given to Channel 4 News on Wednesday evening by Lord McDonald, the former head of the Foreign Office. Lord McDonald said that if Dame Antonia was the favoured candidate to succeed Sir Chris then "in my view, the due diligence has some way still to go". This has been interpreted in government as a reference to an investigation Dame Antonia faced over allegations about her spending in 2017 when she was the government's consul-general in New York, and Lord McDonald was her boss."
Kemi Badenoch has asked the First Civil Service Commissioner to delay any removal of Sir Chris Wormald until documents about Lord Mandelson's appointment as US ambassador are published. Sir Chris is reported to be negotiating an exit package after his December 2024 appointment. The government's favoured successor is Dame Antonia Romeo, previously on the shortlist for the role. Badenoch called for a full new selection process and described Sir Chris as being unfairly treated. Lord McDonald raised concerns about due diligence regarding Dame Antonia, which the government has denied as unfounded.
Read at www.bbc.com
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