Simon case

Oh no. Those who had argued Rishi Sunak would spell a new era of Tory calm appear to have been mistaken. This weekend there are fresh reports of scandal during Boris Johnson’s time as prime minister. The Sunday Times reports today that when Sharp was in the final stages of going for the BBC chairmanship late in 2020, he heard that Johnson was having money troubles and put him in touch with his old pal Sam Blyth, a multimillionaire Canadian businessman who is also a distant cousin of the PM. Blyth could offer Johnson access to the quick cash he wanted. The deal is reported to have been done in

It’s supposedly illegal to die in the House of Commons, but Simon Case gave it a good try this afternoon. The Cabinet Secretary endured a torrid time before the Public Administration Committee, being grilled on everything from Partygate and public standards to Carrie Johnson and civil service cuts. For 107 minutes, Britain’s top mandarin was metaphorically pummeled around the Jo Grimond room, looking at times as though he’d prefer the fate of Jeremy Thorpe’s Rinka. It was difficult to pick a lowlight from this session, though Mr S shall give it a try. Having begun the meeting in his best Sir Humphrey mode – ‘the government of the day is

Oh dear. Ever since Boris Johnson announced that Simon Case would lead a probe into last year’s Whitehall Christmas parties, lobby journalists have repeatedly asked questions as to whether the Cabinet Secretary himself was in attendance at any of the lockdown-breaking shindigs. And now it appears that Case was at least aware of parties being held by Cabinet Office staff in December 2020 if not actively in attendance himself. For this afternoon brought not one, not two but three separate reports that the Cabinet Secretary was somewhat compromised to investigate this matter. First Guido Fawkes reported several incidents of drinking in Case’s office – including ‘copious booze and music’ at a party on

Simon Case was determined not to make news at his select committee appearance today. But his sheer desire not to make news told a story in itself as the Commons Public Administration committee got increasingly frustrated with him. The row over who is responsible will rumble on Case dodged a string of questions on the lockdown leak inquiry and then declared, ‘What I can say I have already said to the committee.’ Case did, though, reveal a couple of things. First, it will be weeks not months before the inquiry concludes and the reason he couldn’t say much on it was that while the leak was not criminal, the investigation is using

Boris Johnson does not get everything wrong. The appointment of Simon Case to be head of the civil service at such a young age is bold and imaginative. Those who have observed his performance in senior roles all seem to regard him highly. But there could be two problems, both related to his youth: he has never run a large organisation and he has never really experienced failure. By the time that most officials and politicians reach his level of seniority, they usually know what is meant by ‘after such knowledge, what forgiveness.’ They are aware that what goes up can also come down; that an idea which, on the

The appointment of Simon Case to the role of No. 10’s new permanent secretary last month is already creating an interesting new power dynamic in Boris Johnson’s top team. Dominic Cummings, Downing Street’s resident grenade-thrower, is now working with someone more adept at defusing bombs. Case, a Barbour-wearing career civil servant, was poached from Kensington Palace, where he was Prince William’s right-hand man, by cabinet secretary Sir Mark Sedwill. In his new role, Case sees anything Covid-related that crosses the Prime Minister’s desk. He is being hailed as the man to rescue the government’s erratic handling of the coronavirus crisis. His experience with the dysfunctional royal household will stand him