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Dame Antonia Romeo has been designated as the UK’s inaugural woman cabinet secretary, concluding days of conjecture regarding who would occupy the country’s foremost public administration position.
Romeo, the leading candidate for the position and formerly chief civil servant at the Home Office, succeeds Sir Chris Wormald, who was compelled to resign after a mere 14 months in the role in early February.
The anticipated selection of Romeo had sparked contention owing to prior accusations of harassment during her tenure as consul-general in New York from 2016 to 2017.
Sir Simon McDonald, previous chief civil servant at the Foreign Office, informed Channel 4 that should Romeo be elevated to the role, it would indicate that “the due diligence still has some way to go”.
The assertions were set aside by the Cabinet Office at that juncture “on the basis there was no case to answer”.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer stated: “I am delighted to appoint Dame Antonia Romeo as the new Cabinet Secretary. She is an outstanding public servant, with a 25‑year record of delivering for the British people.”
Romeo remarked: “It is a huge privilege to be asked to serve as Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service . . . I look forward to working with all colleagues across the Civil Service to do this, in support of the Prime Minister and the Government.”
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