Simon Case to be appointed UK Chief Official

A former private secretary to the Duke of Cambridge will be appointed the UK’s chief official.

Simon Case, who was appointed permanent secretary at 10 Downing Street earlier this year, is expected to be announced as cabinet secretary on Tuesday.

The prime minister will reveal the appointment at a cabinet meeting, sources told the BBC.

First reported by the FT, it comes after Sir Mark Sedwill resigned from office following reports of tensions between him and members of the prime minister’s team.

A spokesman for the Cabinet Office said: “An official announcement about the new cabinet secretary will be made on Tuesday, September 1.”

Mr Case, 41, has been a civil servant since 2006. He spent nearly two years working as Prince William’s right-hand man before temporarily moving to No. 10 earlier this year to help with the coronavirus response.

His long-awaited promotion to cabinet secretary comes two months after Sir Mark announced that he planned to step down.

In a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Sir Mark said it was the right time to go as the government moved to the next phase of its coronavirus recovery plan.

As cabinet secretary, Sir Mark advised Johnson on policy implementation and government conduct.

‘Shake’

The new appointment is also set in the broader context of a “rather radical shakeup” of the civil service, said BBC political correspondent Nick Eardley.

This year, several senior officials from various departments unexpectedly announced that they were leaving their posts.

Jonathan Slater, the top official at the Department of Education, was fired earlier this month following the dispute over A-level and GCSE results in England.

He became the fifth permanent secretary to step down in six months.

Sir Richard Heaton resigned as permanent secretary of the Ministry of Justice in July, saying it had been “a privilege” to lead in the Ministry of Justice, despite “challenging years”.

Sir Philip Rutnam resigned as permanent secretary of the Home Office in February, announcing that he would take Interior Minister Priti Patel to a labor court.

And Sir Simon McDonald announced in June that he would resign as permanent secretary to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in September “at the request” of the prime minister.