Liz Truss is seeking to calm fears across Whitehall of a purge of senior civil servants, following the abrupt sacking last week of Sir Tom Scholar as permanent secretary to the Treasury.
But multiple senior officials told the Financial Times that it was widely expected that Simon Case, head of the civil service and cabinet secretary, would be replaced in the coming months, once the new prime minister has stabilised her government.
As well as Scholar’s sacking, Truss has replaced Sir Stephen Lovegrove as national security adviser with Sir Tim Barrow, a senior Foreign Office diplomat.
But one senior government insider said Truss was not seeking to oust significant numbers of high-ranking officials. “She hasn’t arrived with a sense that all permanent secretaries and the civil service are hopeless. It was more dealing with specific issues,” he said.
Another official who has worked closely with Truss said “the changes are not about installing ‘yes men’. Liz likes being challenged but she wants people in who are going to mix it up.”
Although some senior Whitehall figures had believed Truss would immediately replace Case, who was appointed by her predecessor Boris Johnson in September 2020, she told the cabinet secretary last month of her wish for him to stay on.
Case’s reputation has suffered owing to a perception among civil servants that he was too close to Johnson and failed to stand up for officials during partygate, in which rule-breaking parties took place in Downing Street during Covid-19 lockdowns.
“There is no love for Case in the permanent secretary class,” said one minister.
Few in Whitehall, however, believe Case will remain in post throughout Truss’s premiership, with one well-placed civil servant saying “Simon is not long for this Whitehall world and I think he knows that”.
“By the end of this year, I wouldn’t be surprised if there is an announcement about an exit path, or something early next year,” they added.
Case has won favour in Truss’s inner circle for his grip on Operation London Bridge, the comprehensive plans for the Queen’s funeral. His past career working for the Royal Family has ensured smooth relations between the monarchy and government, and Case has personally toured Whitehall ministries this week to thank officials for their work.
Truss’s Downing Street team have divided her premiership into two distinct phases. While the first involves surviving the first 100 days through the winter and cost of living crisis, the second will focus on policy delivery in 2023 ahead of a likely election in 2024. Case’s replacement may be appointed in the latter phase.
Another senior civil servant said Truss “clearly wants someone who will get things done. For this stage of her premiership, having someone who is not that powerful in Whitehall works. But in the not too distant future, she will want someone more commanding.”
Scholar’s sacking has caused despair among many Treasury officials, who regarded their boss as highly capable.
In a conference call with Treasury staff on Monday, Kwasi Kwarteng lavished praise on Scholar but said the department needed “fresh leadership”. The chancellor said he did not plan further upheavals at official level.
One senior Whitehall figure said Scholar’s departure was inevitable given Truss’s pledge to shake up economic policy. “The fact that the PM has talked so much about Treasury orthodoxy meant she had to demonstrate something to shake it up, and that meant cultural change at the top.”
But his removal, which occurred with immediate effect, leaves the department very short of experience at a time of economic crisis and with a mini-Budget next week.
Sir Charles Roxburgh, a Treasury veteran and second permanent secretary until earlier this year, has yet to be replaced, while the entire ministerial team is new.
One former Treasury minister said the department had a “complete lack of experience . . . It’s incredible. The two top officials have gone and the most experienced minister has only been there for two months.”
Richard Fuller, a junior Treasury minister, was appointed by Johnson on July 8, with all other ministers arriving since then.
The Treasury has said a successor to Scholar will be “appointed shortly”, with those close to the process adding that candidates will be considered among current Whitehall permanent secretaries.
James Bowler, permanent secretary at the Department for International Trade, and Tamara Finkelstein, the top official at the environment department, are seen as strong potential candidates.
Both have, however, spent much of their time in the civil service at the Treasury, whose “orthodoxy” and “abacus economics” Truss blames for Britain’s sluggish growth performance.
Antonia Romeo, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice, is considered the “disruptive” choice by senior officials, who believe she has a close working relationship with Truss. Unlike the other two contenders, Romeo has not worked in the Treasury.
Downing Street and the Cabinet Office declined to comment.
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