Top civil servant Simon Case ‘will be spared the sack’ by Liz Truss after row over axing of Treasury mandarin
- Simon Case is expected to be kept on by new PM Liz Truss as Cabinet Secretary
- She was initially thought to be considering replacing the head of the civil service
- Ms Truss believed to have been impressed by Mr Case during handover of power
- Full coverage: Click here to see all our coverage of the Queen’s passing
Liz Truss is expected to keep Cabinet Secretary Simon Case in his job amid a spat over the axing of a Treasury mandarin.
The PM had initially been considering replacing the civil service chief, but is understood to have been impressed with his performance during the handover of power from Boris Johnson.
Mr Case – who was drafted in by Mr Johnson – has also been playing a key role in designing the new energy bill freeze policy and organising the Queen’s state funeral.
The premier is already facing a backlash over Tom Scholar being removed as the head of the Treasury last week.
Liz Truss is expected to keep Cabinet Secretary Simon Case (pictured) in his job
Ms Truss has previously railed against ‘Treasury orthodoxy’ and the decision to get rid of Sir Tom, on the first day of her new Government, was seen as a signal of her determination to change the direction of economic policy.
National security adviser Stephen Lovegrove has also been replaced with Foreign Office aide Tim Barrow.
Former Cabinet Secretary Lord O’Donnell said the decision on Sir Tom was not ‘respectful’ of the civil service.
He told Times Radio: ‘If you’re going to succeed as a prime minister, you have to have the civil service with you.
‘They’re keen to serve the democratically elected politicians of the country. But there’s an element in which the respect should go both ways.
‘She needs to understand that sacking someone, straight on with no notice for no apparent reason, someone held in high regard by chancellors of all political parties, is no way to earn the respect of the Treasury and the civil service.’
Lord Butler, who served as cabinet secretary under Margaret Thatcher, Sir John Major and Sir Tony Blair, warned the actions of the new administration could ‘corrupt’ the system of government.
The peer strongly condemned the sacking saying it was ‘very unusual and very regrettable’.
‘If there was ever a time we needed experience and continuity, which is what the Civil Service provides, it is now,’ he told BBC Radio 4’s The World This Weekend.
Ms Truss (pictured taking her first Cabinet last week) is already facing a backlash over Tom Scholar being removed as the head of the Treasury
Sir Tom Scholar was removed by Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng in one of his first acts on taking office last week.
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