On February 12, 2026, Sir Chris Wormald’s tenure as the United Kingdom’s top civil servant drew to a sudden and dramatic close. After only 14 months as cabinet secretary and head of the Civil Service, Sir Chris was forced out, making him the shortest-serving cabinet secretary in the history of the post, according to BBC News and The Independent. The decision, described by the Cabinet Office as “by mutual agreement,” came after months of negative media coverage and persistent speculation about his performance and the direction of the Starmer government.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who personally appointed Sir Chris in December 2024, issued a statement expressing gratitude for the support he’d received over the past year. “I am very grateful to Sir Chris for his long and distinguished career of public service, spanning more than 35 years, and for the support that he has given me over the past year. I have agreed with him that he will step down as cabinet secretary today,” Starmer said, as cited by BBC News.
Sir Chris, for his part, responded with characteristic professionalism. “It has been an honour and a privilege to serve as a civil servant for the past 35 years, and a particular distinction to lead the service as cabinet secretary. I want to place on record my sincere thanks to the extraordinary civil servants, public servants, ministers, and advisers I have worked with,” he stated, according to The Independent.
But behind these carefully worded statements, the political fallout was immediate and intense. Sir Chris’s departure was the third high-profile exit from Downing Street in just days, following the resignations of Morgan McSweeney, Starmer’s chief of staff, and Tim Allan, his director of communications. The rapid turnover has fueled claims of instability and chaos at the heart of government. David Maddox, political editor for The Independent, described the situation as “yet another sign of a Labour government in complete chaos led by a man – the prime minister Sir Keir Starmer – who seems incapable of choosing the right people for senior jobs.”
At the time of his appointment, Sir Chris was tasked with nothing less than “the complete re-wiring of the British state to deliver bold and ambitious long-term reform,” according to Starmer’s own words. Yet, as BBC News reported, some questioned whether a career civil servant was the best person to drive such radical change. Sir Chris also shouldered ultimate responsibility for due diligence checks before Lord Mandelson’s controversial appointment as US ambassador—though, notably, he had only started the role a few days before the announcement was made public.
The Cabinet Office has moved quickly to fill the leadership vacuum, announcing that Sir Chris’s responsibilities will be shared on an interim basis by Catherine Little (permanent secretary at the Cabinet Office), Dame Antonia Romeo (permanent secretary at the Home Office), and James Bowler (permanent secretary at the Treasury). The government said a permanent replacement would be appointed “shortly.”
Among the frontrunners is Dame Antonia Romeo, who was on the shortlist for the role when Sir Chris was appointed. If selected, she would become the first female head of the Civil Service—a milestone that some observers believe could help counter claims of a “boys’ club” culture in Downing Street. However, her potential appointment is not without controversy. Lord McDonald, former head of the Foreign Office, told Channel 4 News that “the due diligence has some way still to go,” referencing an investigation into Dame Antonia’s spending while serving as consul-general in New York in 2017. The Cabinet Office, however, was quick to defend her, stating: “There is absolutely no basis for this criticism. Antonia Romeo is a highly respected permanent secretary with a 25-year record of excellent public service. The allegations all come from a single grievance made some time ago by a former employee. All the allegations were dismissed on the basis there was no case to answer.”
The appointment process will be overseen by Baroness Stuart, the First Civil Service Commissioner and a former Labour MP and Brexit campaigner. This, the Cabinet Office stressed, is to ensure transparency and rigor after recent controversies over the appointments of Lord Mandelson and Lord Doyle—both of whom drew criticism for their links to convicted sex offenders. Starmer has promised to tighten vetting procedures for senior roles in response to these scandals.
The opposition was swift to seize on the turmoil. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused Starmer of throwing Sir Chris “under the bus to save his own skin,” and called for Sir Chris to remain in post until the release of documents to Parliament about Lord Mandelson’s appointment was complete. Badenoch also demanded a “full new process” to select the next cabinet secretary. Meanwhile, Dave Penman, head of the FDA Union representing senior civil servants, condemned the treatment of Sir Chris as “a new low for this government and its relationship with the Civil Service,” adding, “Wormald had barely started in the cabinet secretary role before the anonymous briefings started to scapegoat him and undermine his authority.”
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey weighed in with a note of dark humor, posting on X: “Very worried about who Keir Starmer will blame when there is literally no one else left in Number 10.”
Amid the political finger-pointing, the Cabinet Office stuck to its official line. “The appointment process would be agreed by the First Civil Service Commissioner,” a spokesperson said, aiming to reassure both Parliament and the public that the next steps would be handled with integrity.
Sir Chris’s departure comes at a moment of heightened scrutiny over the government’s handling of senior appointments. As cabinet secretary, he had been overseeing the release of documents demanded by Parliament about Lord Mandelson’s appointment—a process that now falls to his interim successors. Starmer’s promise to “reset” his Downing Street operation, following a string of high-profile exits and appointment controversies, will be tested in the coming weeks as the search for a new cabinet secretary unfolds.
For now, the UK’s most senior civil service post remains in the hands of three seasoned officials, while the political world watches to see if Starmer can steady the ship and deliver on his pledge of bold reform. The next appointment will not only shape the future of the Civil Service but may also determine how this government is remembered for its management of public trust and internal stability.