Keir Starmer 'wants a woman' to take over as Cabinet Secretary

Sir Keir Starmer is poised to pick between Britain's most senior female civil servants and Theresa May's Brexit negotiator when appointing Whitehall's new top official.

The race to become the new cabinet secretary has officially begun after Simon Case, who has held the £200,000-a-year role since 2020, confirmed he is quitting.

Those linked to the job include three women who currently head Government departments, with the PM said to favour a female replacement for Mr Case.

But Sir Oliver 'Olly' Robbins, the architect of Mrs May's doomed Brexit deal, is also seen as a leading candidate due to his relationship with Sir Keir's chief aide Sue Gray.

Mr Case announced he was standing down yesterday on health grounds, telling colleagues 'whilst the spirit remains willing, the body is not'.

He stressed his departure at the end of the year was 'solely to do with my health and nothing to do with anything else'.

It followed reports of bitter tensions at the heart of No10 between himself and Ms Gray since Labour's general election victory in July.

As well as a bumper salary, the new cabinet secretary will enjoy 28.97 per cent pension contributions and 30 days holiday a year, according to a job advert.

Antonio Romeo, from the Ministry of Justice, Tamara Finkelstein, from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and Sarah Healey, from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, are among current female permanent secretaries who could apply for the role.

Melanie Dawes, the chief executive of Ofcom, and Minouche Shafik, a former deputy governor of the Bank of England, have also been linked to the position.

Prior to the general election, it was reported that Ms Gray - Sir Keir's powerful chief of staff - had held secret talks with Sir Oliver about returning to a top job in Whitehall.

But any return for Sir Oliver to a senior civil service job would likely anger Tory Brexiteers due to his past role as the negotiator of Mrs May's Brexit deal.

The former PM's agreement, thrashed out by Sir Oliver with the EU, was rejected three times by the House of Commons before her downfall.

Sir Oliver is currently working at Hakluyt, a Mayfair-based strategic advisory firm, having previously worked for Goldman Sachs after leaving the civil service in 2019.

Mr Case has been the UK's most senior official since September 2020, when he replaced Sir Mark Sedwill as cabinet secretary and head of the civil service.

His spell in charge of Whitehall was dogged by the Partygate scandal, with Mr Case forced to remove himself from leading an investigation into lockdown-busting gatherings after it was revealed a party was held in his own office.

Ms Gray subsequently took over the Partygate investigation, before she quit as a top civil servant to become Sir Keir's top aide.

Mr Case's absence from work due to illness meant he missed a scheduled appearance in front of the Covid Inquiry, although he belatedly gave evidence to the pandemic probe in May.

Earlier this year, it was reported Mr Case was still working from home at least two days a week - but insiders stressed he is taking calls and fully engaged when not physically present in Whitehall.