UK appoints first woman to lead the civil service

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday appointed Antonia Romeo as Cabinet Secretary, making her the first woman to take on the most senior civil service position and charging her with the task of driving the government’s reform agenda.

She will succeed Chris Wormald, who last week became the third member of Starmer’s team to leave government after a row over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as British ambassador to the United States.

Romeo has worked in several government departments, most recently permanent secretary at the interior ministry.

Starmer said Romeo was an “outstanding public servant” and he had been “impressed by her professionalism and determination to get things done”.

“Antonia has shown she is the right person to drive the government to reform,” he said.

Her appointment, effective immediately, comes after the BBC earlier this week reported that she had faced allegations of bullying behaviour from several people from the time when she was a senior diplomat in New York.

Prior to her appointment, the prime minister’s spokesperson said there had been one formal complaint raised nine years ago, “and the allegations were dismissed on the basis there was no case to answer.”

Romeo, who joined the civil service in 2000 as a professional economist, has previously served as consul general in New York and as special envoy to U.S. technology companies, also based in New York.

She has also served as permanent secretary at the justice ministry and held the same role at the department for international trade.

Romeo said it was a “huge privilege” to lead the civil service, which she said was “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,” she said in a statement.