1 month ago
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PA
Cabinet Secretary Simon Case gave evidence at the UK Covid-19 Inquiry at Dorland House in London in May earlier this year
Cabinet Secretary Simon Case has announced he will step down by the end of the year on health grounds.
The top civil servant had been undergoing medical treatment for a "neurological condition" over the last 18 months.
In a statement he said "whilst the spirit remains willing, the body is not," adding that the decision is "solely to do with health and nothing to do with anything else."
A recruitment process for the next cabinet secretary has begun.
Mr Case has been in the role since September 2020 and is now serving his fourth prime minister.
He has at times been an unusually controversial figure, facing scrutiny over his role in the Downing Street parties saga and over messages he exchanged with ministers during the pandemic.
More recently there have been reports of tensions at the heart of No 10 between Mr Case and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's chief of staff, Sue Gray.
In October last year, Mr Case announced he was taking time off because of a private medical matter, and he was widely expected to leave the civil service in the coming months.
A Cambridge graduate with a PhD in political history, Mr Case ascended through the ranks of the civil service after joining in 2006.
He held roles in the UK's intelligence agency, GCHQ, and in the Royal Household on the way to the top job.
At the age of 41, he became the youngest cabinet secretary in more than 100 years.
The cabinet secretary is the most senior civil servant and involves advising the prime minister, leading implementation of the government's policies and managing other high-level civil servants.
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