Sir Chris Wormald left the role on Thursday after just 14 months as Sir Keir sought to shake up his Downing Street operation in the wake of the Peter Mandelson scandal. Lord Simon McDonald said the Prime Minister should start the recruitment process “from scratch” to ensure there was proper “due diligence”. In the meantime, Dame Antonia is one of the three civil servants filling in as cabinet secretary, alongside Cabinet Office permanent secretary Cat Little and Treasury permanent secretary James Bowler. After 35 years in the Civil Service, Sir Chris is now the shortest-serving cabinet secretary in history, lasting less than the 23 months Sir Mark Sedwill held the position for under Theresa May and Boris Johnson. A similar payment of almost £250,000 previously had to be approved by Mr Johnson when the now Lord Sedwill stood down as cabinet secretary in 2020.

Source: The Times February 13, 2026 12:14 UTC