"However, on Wednesday evening Lord McDonald, the former head of the Foreign Office, told Channel 4 News that if this was the case then "in my view, the due diligence has some way still to go". He called for a "full process" to appoint a new cabinet secretary that "starts from scratch". This has been interpreted 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,"
"In response to Lord McDonald's interview, a cabinet office spokesperson said: "There is absolutely no basis for this criticism. "Antonia Romeo is a highly respected permanent secretary with a 25-year record of excellent public service. "The allegations all come from a single grievance made some time ago by a former employee. All the allegations were dismissed on the basis there was no case to answer.""
Sir Chris Wormald has stood down as head of the Civil Service and cabinet secretary after less than a year in the post; Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was grateful for his support. The Cabinet Office described the departure as "by mutual agreement" amid months of negative media reports suggesting Downing Street was unhappy with his performance. Interim responsibilities will be shared by Catherine Little, Dame Antonia Romeo and James Bowler. Dame Antonia is the government's preferred successor, but former foreign office head Lord McDonald called for a fresh, full appointment process amid past spending allegation inquiries from 2017, which the Cabinet Office says were dismissed.
Read at www.bbc.com
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