His other role as national security adviser will be taken by Johnson’s chief Brexit adviser, David Frost. As cabinet secretary, Sedwill was supposed to coordinate the work of permanent secretaries as they grappled with the lockdown, supplies of personal protective equipment, food supplies, prison releases and coronavirus tests. Lord Kerslake, a former head of the civil service, said Sedwill’s departure followed unfair hostile briefings that attempted to blame civil servants for mistakes over coronavirus. Sedwill’s exit from No 10 is likely to be part of a wider shake-up of top jobs across the civil service overseen by Cummings and Gove. Gove set out his manifesto for reforming the civil service on Saturday in a lecture titled The Privilege of Public Service.

Source: The Guardian June 28, 2020 16:26 UTC