Relations between UK prime minister Boris Johnson and Simon Case, the head of the civil service, have descended into “mutual mistrust” over the latter’s ties with Dominic Cummings, multiple senior Whitehall officials said.
Case’s position as the most senior civil servant in the British government is under intense scrutiny after Johnson’s former aide Cummings told MPs this week that he personally recruited Case to try and influence the prime minister’s views on tackling the coronavirus pandemic.
Case was appointed cabinet secretary in September 2020 after the working relationship broke down between his predecessor Mark Sedwill and the prime minister’s inner circle, which then included Cummings.
Five well-placed figures in the civil service said relations between Johnson and Case were precarious, in part due to his ties to the former Downing Street adviser. One government insider said: “Number 10 are deeply suspicious that he’s not on side.”
Those who have witnessed Johnson’s Number 10 operation at close quarters claimed that Case was sometimes excluded from key meetings.
Another Whitehall official said, “on the surface it looks fine and professional. But once you scratch beneath the surface, it’s clear that it is not harmonious. It’s better than Mark [Sedwill] but there are clearly feelings of mutual mistrust.”
Case was a surprise appointment to the role, having not previously run a major Whitehall department and being selected for the role at the relatively young age of 42. He emerged as Number 10’s favourite above several more established civil servants.
During Wednesday’s seven-hour testimony to two parliamentary select committees, Cummings told MPs he personally appointed Case to influence Johnson on the pandemic. “I brought in Simon Case to be permanent secretary at Number 10 because I thought the prime minister is not listening to me on this whole subject,” he said.
Cummings’s claim that he personally appointed Case has made his politically neutral position more difficult, according to colleagues. “Everyone knew it was true,” said one official. “But the fact that it’s in the public domain changes things.”
On Thursday, two officials said there were concerns across Whitehall over Case’s ties to Cummings. One government insider said “the mood in the cabinet secretary’s camp is very low” following the hearing. Another added that “he [Case] is clearly worried about what Dom might say next”.
But one senior Number 10 official said they “absolutely did not recognise that characterisation”, adding “the cabinet secretary and the prime minister have an excellent working relationship”.
Case, Downing Street and the Cabinet Office all declined to comment.
One friend of Case said: “Simon is happily getting on with the job and suggestions of a rift are well wide of the mark.” But officials sympathetic to Case report a “degree of frustration” on the part of the cabinet secretary as he attempts to forge a solid relationship with the prime minister.
There is speculation in Whitehall that Case might eventually return to royal duties and that he was not particularly enjoying the job. “The PM can’t fire two cabinet secretaries, but he could allow one to drift away,” said one Cabinet Office insider.
It is often suggested that Case is “unsackable” given that Johnson opted to change cabinet secretaries last year. But that is discounted by some senior officials who say Johnson would hardly pay a heavy political price if he removed someone seen as an acolyte of Cummings.
Case’s hesitant appearance at the public administration and constitutional affairs select committee last month was widely seen in Whitehall as confirmation that he lacked the experience of previous holders of the job. During that hearing Case was asked about how Johnson funded the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat — a matter he is overseeing a review into.
“He hasn’t run a department and he isn’t experienced in facing hostile questions from MPs,” said one.
One seasoned Whitehall observer described it as “an absolute disaster”.
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2021-05-28 08:54:10Z
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