Boris Johnson will on Monday begin the search for a Brexiteer to run the Civil Service after its current head was ousted ahead of a wholesale reform of Whitehall. Sir Mark Sedwill, the Cabinet Secretary, will stand down in September after losing a power struggle with Mr Johnson’s chief adviser Dominic Cummings. The civil service union responded by accusing Downing Street of spending months undermining Sir Mark with “corrosive and cowardly” anonymous briefings. Mr Johnson intends to reform Whitehall by recruiting more Brexiteers and relocating Government departments to the regions, and made it clear to Sir Mark that he was not the man to drive the revolution. As first reported by The Telegraph, Sir Mark will also lose his joint role as national security adviser, which will be handed to Mr Johnson’s chief Brexit trade deal negotiator David Frost. Mr Frost is considered one of the Prime Minister’s most loyal officials, and Downing Street said his appointment means that for the first time the role of national security adviser is classed as a political role, tying it even closer to the aims of Number 10. Mr Frost has been appointed to the national security role despite having little experience in the field. He will also have little time to prepare for the role, as he will remain in charge of Brexit trade negotiations throughout July and could be called upon if negotiations run beyond then, currently the Government’s deadline for reaching an agreement. In his letter to Mr Johnson, Sir Mark diplomatically said “we have agreed that I will stand down and leave Government service”, while Mr Johnson said he had “earned the gratitude of the nation”. But Sir Mark, who was appointed by Theresa May and does not share the Prime Minister’s zeal for Brexit or for reform, had been the subject of constant negative briefings which were blamed on Number 10. He was also sidelined when Mr Johnson appointed the Duke of Cambridge’s private secretary Simon Case as his permanent secretary and gave him the task of leading the Government review into the two metre social distancing restrictions. Mr Case is now a front-runner to replace Sir Mark.
