Labour demands answers from Theresa May over emergency appointment of new civil service boss
2 min read
Theresa May "needs to explain" why the new head of the civil service was appointed unchallenged, Labour have said.
Sir Mark Sedwill - Mrs May's former top official when she was at the Home Office - was named as Cabinet Secretary on Wednesday after the long-serving Sir Jeremy Heywood retired to focus on treatment for cancer.
But Shadow Cabinet Office Minister Jon Trickett hit out at an "abuse of process" after it emerged that Sir Mark, who has been doing the job on interim basis, was appointed without an open competition.
According to The Times, Mrs May argued that the pressure of Brexit meant an urgent appointment was needed, with a source telling the paper: "The thought was, it’s going to be Mark anyway, let’s just cut the crap and get on with it."
Another Whitehall figure said: "A more secure, confident prime minister might have said, ‘Let me throw the net a bit wider’.
"But she has already had to change from Jeremy to Mark back in June and to change again in the middle of one of the most complicated negotiations known to man would not necessarily have been smart."
However, the move prompted a furious blast from Mr Trickett, who scrutinises the civil service for Labour.
He told the Times: "It was not an open selection. How do we know we’ve got the best person?
"Theresa May needs to explain why she has allowed things to happen in this way."
A Downing Street spokesman said the appointment of Britain's most senior civil servant was "a decision for the prime minister as set out in the cabinet manual".
The cabinet manual acts as a guide to the UK's system of government and says the Cabinet Secretary is "appointed by the Prime Minister on the advice of the retiring Cabinet Secretary and the First Civil Service Commissioner".
It was announced on Wednesday that Sir Mark will continue to serve as national security adviser as well as leading the civil service.
The new civil service chief made headlines last week when he leapt to the defence of Mrs May's under-fire Brexit negotiator Olly Robbins.
In a highly unusual public intervention, the then-acting Cabinet Secretary said those launching anonymous attacks on the Prime Minister's EU adviser “should be ashamed of themselves”.
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