UK's top senior civil servant steps down as Johnson adviser seeks change

Record ID: 1559510

  • Title: UK's top senior civil servant steps down as Johnson adviser seeks change
  • Date: 28th June 2020
  • Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (FILE - MAY 9, 2019) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** SEDWILL SHAKING HANDS WITH CHINA'S STATE COUNCILLOR YANG JIECHI SEDWILL LISTENING DURING MEETING
  • Embargoed: 12th July 2020 18:47
  • Keywords: Adviser Boris Johnson Mark Sedwill
  • Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM / BEIJING, CHINA / KABUL, AFGHANISTAN / INTERNET
  • City: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM / BEIJING, CHINA / KABUL, AFGHANISTAN / INTERNET
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA002CKAA5HJ
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Britain's most senior civil servant stepped down on Sunday (June 28) after reports of clashes with Prime Minister Boris Johnson's top political adviser, part of what is expected to be a wider shake up of officials at the heart of power.
    Mark Sedwill, a career diplomat, was appointed cabinet secretary and national security adviser by Johnson's predecessor Theresa May.
    In a letter to Johnson released on Sunday, he wrote that, having stayed on for "the acute phase" of the coronavirus crisis, he was now leaving as "the government's focus is now shifting to domestic and global recovery and renewal".
    Johnson's senior political adviser, Dominic Cummings, has long been critical of the civil service, saying government is not nimble enough to deliver change.
    Johnson's office released a letter in which he thanked Sedwill for his "outstanding service", and asked him to lead a new G7 panel on global economic security as Britain assumes the presidency of the rich nations' group.
    David Frost, Britain's chief negotiator with the European Union, will replace Sedwill as national security adviser and there will be a competition to appoint a new cabinet secretary and head of the civil service.
    (Production: Marissa Davison, Bharati Naik)
  • Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2020. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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