The appointment of Dame Antonia Romeo as the first ever female cabinet secretary and head of the civil service has been met with positive reaction by civil service unions and former cabinet secretary Lord Mark Sedwill.
Romeo’s appointment comes after Starmer ousted Sir Chris Wormald from the role last week, having picked him as cab sec just 14 months ago.
Congratulating Romeo, who becomes the UK's 15th cab sec, Sedwill said she will bring "dynamism, confidence and a reform agenda to the public service”.
Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA union which represents senior civil servants, said the hire is “an important decision because the civil service, the government and the country needs the stability that a permanent appointment brings”.
“Important because it’s an opportunity for the prime minister and the government to reset the relationship with the civil service, which this episode has done so much to damage,” he said.
“Important because the prime minister and government need to be clearer about what they want from the civil service and its leadership. Rewiring the state is slogan, not a strategy. Everyone wants to pull together and deliver better, more efficient public service. Let’s now focus on that.
“But finally it’s important because Antonia is the first woman to hold the post of cabinet secretary. That’s not why she’s been appointed, she’s been appointed as an outstanding leader with a proven track record – but ridiculously it has taken until 2026 for this to happen and firsts are important, so let’s also celebrate that.”
Mike Clancy, general secretary of Prospect, which represents specialist and technical civil servants, said: “This is an important appointment at a crucial time for the civil service as the government continues with their reform agenda.
“Civil servants and their trade unions want to be partners in reform, but this can only happen if we are properly engaged and if key barriers, such as pay progression for specialists, are acknowledged and addressed – this should be at the top of the cabinet secretary’s inbox.
“We look forward to early engagement with Dame Antonia, and look forward to working with her to champion the civil service and the talented people who work there.”
Home secretary Shabana Mahmood, who worked with Romeo in her current role and previously as justice secretary, said she is "thrilled for" Romeo, describing her as an "excellent and dedicated public servant".
Also offering congratulations, Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the prime minister, said: “Not only is she the first female cabinet secretary but she’s shown that she can get government to move fast and fix things. I look forward to working with her to deliver for the United Kingdom.”
Institute for Government senior researcher Jack Worlidge warned that Romeo is "taking on a daunting job at a crucial time".
"As cabinet secretary, she needs to build a close working relationship with the prime minister and help to stabilise No10 and the Cabinet Office after the recent churn and uncertainty," he said.
"And as head of the civil service, her role is potentially even more challenging. She needs to lead and inspire a workforce of over half a million people, while urgently tackling serious, well-recognised and long-running problems in the civil service that have been allowed to fester for too long."
Romeo joined the civil service as an economist in 2000. During her quarter of a century as a civil servant, she has risen through the ranks to lead three departments as permanent secretary: the Department for International Trade, the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office.
Other roles she has held include principal private secretary at the Ministry of Justice; executive director of government reform and enterprise at the Cabinet Office; and director general for criminal justice at the MoJ, overseeing the introduction of major – and sometimes contentious – government projects, including a total overhaul of rehabilitation services.
She also spent a 10-month spell as DG and head of the Economic and Domestic Secretariat in the Cabinet Office in 2015, where she was responsible for co-ordinating policy advice to then-prime minister David Cameron and his cabinet. She described this at the time as the “best job in government”.
When she was appointed as Home Office perm sec in 2024, she was described by then-cab sec Wormald as “an exceptional public servant who embodies the very best of the civil service”.
Rumours that Romeo would be appointed as cab sec began before Wormald's departure, while a briefing row has taken place in recent days over her appointment as bullying allegations from almost a decade ago were resurfaced. These claims were investigated at the time and Romeo was cleared.
The allegations were brought up again after Simon McDonald, the former Foreign Office perm sec and head of the Dipomatic Service, said in an interview on Channel 4 that "due diligence has some way still to go" when asked about the rumoured appointment of Romeo.
Penman said the comments were "poor judgment" from McDonald as Romeo cannot defend herself publicly. He also said some of the briefings that followed were "underlined by misogyny".
On the process which led to Romeo being appointed as cab sec, the Cabinet Office said today that an enhanced due diligence process was undertaken by the permanent secretary of the Cabinet Office and the interim government chief people officer, which will form the basis for the appointments to the cab sec role in future.
Romeo was also one of four candidates in the 2024 race to become cab sec, with Wormald chosen by Starmer in that appointment process ahead of Romeo; Dame Tamara Finkelstein, who was then-permanent secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and has since left the civil service; and Sir Olly Robbins, who instead got the job heading up the Diplomatic Service.