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

Mr Case stressed his departure was ‘solely to do with my health and nothing to do with anything else’, despite reports of bitter tensions with Sir Keir’s top aide Sue Gray

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 Ms Gray

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.

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Tory leadership contender Robert Jenrick sets out plan to slash foreign aid for countries that don’t take back failed asylum seekers from Britain

Tory leadership contender Robert Jenrick has set out plans to slash foreign aid for countries that don’t take back failed asylum seekers from Britain.

The ex-immigration minister, one of four Conservative MPs vying to replace Rishi Sunak, demanded the Government go ‘much further’ in removing illegal migrants.

Mr Jenrick called on Labour to end aid handouts and severely restrict visas to countries who refuse to cooperate with the UK on returns.

He claimed his plans would see a fivefold increase in deportations of people living illegally in the UK to more than 100,000 removals a year.

The former minister also said countries such as Vietnam, Turkey and Brazil, which have accounted for tens of thousands of asylum requests over the past few years, should be added to a list of ‘safe’ nations.

This would allow Britain to strike new agreements with these countries, similar to Mr Sunak’s deal with Albania, in order to speed up the return of illegal migrants and foreign criminals, Mr Jenrick added.

Tory leadership contender Robert Jenrick has set out plans to slash foreign aid for countries that don’t take back failed asylum seekers from Britain

Mr Jenrick, Kemi Badenoch (top right), James Cleverly (bottom left) and Tom Tugendhat (bottom right) will use the upcoming Conservative conference to woo party members

‘Illegal migration is placing intolerable pressure on our communities and the taxpayer,’ he said.

‘While the number of people here illegally has ballooned over the last 20 years, deportations have plummeted.

‘As immigration minister I increased removals by over 50 per cent. But that system is broken – we need fundamental change.

‘Anyone who arrives illegally from a safe country should be removed immediately.

‘The Government must stop other countries exploiting our generosity by imposing severe visa restrictions and restricting foreign aid to countries that do not take back their nationals here illegally.

‘We must leave the ECHR [European Convention on Human Rights] so we can deport dangerous foreign criminals.

‘And we must declare countries like Turkey, Brazil and Vietnam safe in law – these are holiday destinations, not war-torn hell-holes.

‘This would secure our borders, protect the public and save the taxpayer tens of billions of pounds in the years ahead.’

Mr Jenrick cited research showing 14,884 migrants from Iraq arrived in Britain on small boats between 2018 and 2023.

This compared to the UK returning 150 people to Iraq in 2023, while the Middle East nation has received more than £400million in foreign aid from the UK over the last decade.

He also pointed to statistics revealing Vietnamese nationals were the third largest group crossing to Britain in small boats in the year to June 2024.

Over the same period, 18,908 UK visitor visas to Vietnam were granted, while 153 Vietnamese nationals in Britain illegally were returned last year.

Mr Jenrick and fellow leadership contenders Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly and Tom Tugendhat will use the upcoming Conservative conference in Birmingham to try and woo fellow MPs and party members.