In the 110-year history of the position, Dame Antonia will be the first female to occupy it.According to government officials who spoke to the BBC, Sir Keir was pleased by her capacity to "get things done" despite the fact that she had previously been the subject of numerous bullying accusations.The government has previously stated that there was "no case to answer" after an investigation into three claims regarding Dame Antonia's usage of expenditures and harassment of employees during her tenure as the UK consul general in New York.
During cabinet minister meetings, which typically occur once a week in Downing Street when Parliament is in session, the cabinet secretary, who is the prime minister's top policy advisor, sits next to them.They are ultimately in charge of all British civil officials and are in charge of making sure policy decisions are implemented.Dame Antonia has a lengthy history of heading government agencies, including tenures as permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice, the Home Office, and International Trade.Following a due diligence procedure that was supervised by First Civil Service Commissioner and cross-bench peer Baroness Gisela Stuart, she was appointed.She is a "outstanding public servant, with a 25-year record of delivering for the British people," according to Sir Keir.He continued: "Since becoming prime minister, I've been impressed by her professionalism and determination to get things done."
Dame Antonia described her appointment as a "big privilege" and added, "I love the Civil Service, which is a fantastic and remarkable institution."As we strive to carry out the government's program and address the issues the nation faces, we ought to be renowned for our delivery, effectiveness, and inventiveness."Dame Antonia, an economist who graduated from the University of Oxford, worked for a private sector consulting firm until joining the Civil Service in 2000.Among her high-level positions was her tenure as the consul general of the United Kingdom in New York from 2016 to 2017.
Shortly after the referendum to remove Britain from the EU, Dame Antonia was photographed with celebrities as part of her job promoting UK trade and commerce in New York.In an email, a former coworker expressed concerns about Dame Antonia's use of social media, saying that she appeared to be "focusing an undue amount on building her personal Twitter brand."
Sir Chris Wormald, who was fired as cabinet secretary last week after only 14 months in office, is replaced by Dame Antonia.The cabinet secretary with the shortest tenure in history is Sir Chris.Following months of unfavorable media coverage implying that Downing Street was dissatisfied with his performance, he left."The complete re-wiring of the British state to deliver bold and ambitious long-term reform" was the prime minister's stated task for Sir Chris at the time of his appointment.Some questioned if he was the most qualified individual to restructure the Civil Service because he was a career civil servant.
Although he assumed the position just a few days before the nomination was formally announced, Sir Chris was also ultimately in charge of the due diligence investigations conducted before to Lord Mandelson's appointment as US ambassador.Last September, Lord Mandelson was fired from his position when Downing Street revealed fresh details regarding the extent of his connection to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The anonymous briefings against Sir Chris were criticized by the FDA union for senior civil workers.Lisa Smart, a spokesman for the Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office, stated that the public is "tired of the endless sniping and the revolving door of officials" in response to Dame Antonia's nomination.She stated: "It's time to stop the Downing Street drama and start delivering for the country."
If it went into government, Reform UK indicated it would divide the position into three parts.They have suggested a civil service leader, a principal adviser to the prime minister who would be a political appointee, and a cabinet secretary in charge of the cabinet and cabinet committee meeting procedures.According to Reform UK MP Danny Kruger, the existing combined function "helps explain the chronic bureaucracy and misgovernment of Britain, and is far too much executive responsibility for a single civil servant."
