Sir Keir Starmer has appointed Dame Antonia Romeo as the first female cabinet secretary, praising her “determination to get things done”.
Romeo, the present permanent secretary at the Home Office, will replace Sir Chris Wormald, who was sacked by Starmer last week.
Downing Street said the appointment had been made after a “detailed due diligence process” overseen and approved by the first civil service commissioner.
Former Foreign Office civil servants had claimed Romeo bullied staff when she was consul-general in New York, and that a report on her behaviour was “covered up”. The claims were denied by the Cabinet Office, and Romeo’s allies accused her critics of misogyny.
Dave Penman, the head of the FDA civil servants’ union, said: “A lot of the criticism of her has been misogynistic. The attributes she’s got, like ambition, would be praised if she were a man. She’s a successful, ambitious woman and a lot of people just don’t like that.”
Romeo was the longest-serving permanent secretary, having also worked in the Ministry of Justice. She led the government’s response to the summer of civil unrest in 2024.
She will be tasked with overseeing a huge civil service restructuring programme while trying to deliver the government’s priorities of boosting economic growth, cutting NHS waiting times and tackling the small boats crisis. She will also have to try to restore morale in the civil service after years of criticism from politicians.
Romeo at Buckingham Palace in 2023
AARON CHOWN/PA
Romeo has an MA in philosophy, politics and economics from Oxford University, an MSc in economics from the London School of Economics and worked in the private sector at Oliver Wyman, the consultancy firm. She joined the civil service as an economist in 2000.
Mike Clancy, the general secretary of Prospect, which represents specialist and technical civil servants, said: “This is an important appointment at a crucial time for the civil service as the government continues with their reform agenda.
“Civil servants and their trade unions want to be partners in reform, but this can only happen if we are properly engaged and if key barriers, such as pay progression for specialists, are acknowledged and addressed — this should be at the top of the cabinet secretary’s inbox.”
One senior Whitehall figure said Romeo’s appointment was “unquestionably good news”.
The source said: “The civil service needs a kick up the arse and at the same time an arm around its shoulder and I think Antonia is about the only person who is capable of doing both at the same time.”
The role of cabinet secretary has become increasingly political in recent years. Wormald lost the confidence of Starmer as he was accused of failing to push through Whitehall reform and being too often a block to government policies. Lord Case, his predecessor, retired on health grounds shortly after Labour took office.
Starmer said Romeo was an “outstanding public servant, with a 25‑year record of delivering for the British people”, adding: “Since becoming prime minister, I’ve been impressed by her professionalism and determination to get things done.
“Families across the country are still feeling the squeeze, and this government is focused on easing the cost of living, strengthening public services and restoring pride in our communities. It is essential we have a cabinet secretary who can support the government to make this happen.
“Antonia has shown she is the right person to drive the government to reform and I look forward to working with her to deliver this period of national renewal.”
Romeo said: “The civil service is a great and remarkable institution, which I love. We should be known for delivery, efficiency and innovation, working to implement the government’s agenda and meet the challenges the country faces.”
Romeo at No 10 in 2023
STEVE BACK
Romeo has run three major government departments. She set up the Department for International Trade before moving to the Ministry of Justice and, most recently, the Home Office.
She was shortlisted for the top job when Case left the civil service, but lost out to Wormald. Rather than carry out a new selection process, the Civil Service Commission agreed that Romeo could be directly appointed by Starmer because she had already been recently vetted and interviewed.
Jack Worlidge, a senior researcher at the Institute for Government, said Romeo was “taking on a daunting job at a crucial time”.
He said: “As cabinet secretary, she needs to build a close working relationship with the prime minister and help to stabilise No 10 and the Cabinet Office after the recent churn and uncertainty.
“And as head of the civil service, her role is potentially even more challenging. She needs to lead and inspire a workforce of over half a million people, while urgently tackling serious, well-recognised and long-running problems in the civil service that have been allowed to fester for too long.”
• The Times view: Antonia Romeo is the right choice to lead the civil service
The Cabinet Office said an “enhanced due diligence process” had been undertaken by its permanent secretary and the interim government chief people officer, which would “form the basis for the appointments to the cabinet secretary role in future”.
Reform UK pledged to “break up” the role of cabinet secretary if it won the next general election, creating three roles. This would include the cabinet secretary, the head of the civil service and the prime minister’s chief adviser. The latter would be held by a political appointee and become the most senior person in No 10 after the prime minister.
The party said the present role gave “far too much executive responsibility” to a single civil servant and “helps explain the chronic bureaucracy and misgovernment of Britain”.
Zia Yusuf, Reform’s home affairs spokesman, said: “Starmer has appointed ‘Queen of Woke’ Antonia Romeo to be the most powerful civil servant. The embodiment of all that’s wrong with the blob. A great advert for the £4 billion of cuts to civil service payroll Reform has already announced.”