Hot on the heels of news that Cabinet Secretary Simon Case is leaving government, he rejoins another venerable institution. The Garrick Club…
Hilariously the Garrick is letting those who resigned for publicity over the female-inclusivity affair quietly fast-track their way back in:
“The club’s management is understood to have allowed members who resigned in March and April amid publicity over the no women members policy to withdraw their resignations and resume their memberships without needing to go through a lengthy and expensive official rejoining process.”
After ceremoniously briefing six months ago that he had renounced his membership of the £1,600-a-year club following a crazed media witchhunt led by The Guardian, Case is back. Must be good to be home…
Cabinet Secretary Simon Case has announced his resignation to Civil Servants. The race is on…
Case says he’ll leave at the end of the year. Up comes the job ad…
Read Case’s full note below:
When the Lord Alli scandal first broke – over his acquisition of a Downing Street pass – Labour’s explanation was that the donor was “doing some transition work with us.” The key word suggesting the transition between opposition and government…
Close to a general election, the main opposition party is offered a series of secret handover talks with senior officials – designed to prepare them should they win. Guido hears from multiple well-placed sources that some of those talks took place at Lord Alli’s properties, potentially including his extravagant penthouse. Confidential government handover work carried out in a political donor’s property…
The attendees would have included Keir Starmer, Sue Gray, and Simon Case. The meetings took place in the rough six month period before the election. On at least one occasion other officials are said to have been present, including Gray ally Darren Tierney, who has run the Propriety and Ethics (now Propriety and Constitution) Group in the Cabinet Office since March 2021, though reports are unconfirmed. Government business taking place at a top donor’s house would be highly irregular, especially given the sensitive nature of the talks…
It’s well-known that the confidential access talks “usually happen away from departments” – that is understood to usually mean a low key neutral meeting space. Not the luxury penthouses of ultra-rich, heavily politically-involved donors who will go on to gain access to Downing Street…
The properties are said to be one of the Labour leadership’s favourite bolt holes for high-level confidential meetings. Guido asked the Cabinet Office if any of the talks took place at his property to which a government spokesman said: “We don’t comment on access talks.” That is not a denial…
Trouble is brewing for the Cabinet Secretary. This morning the FT reports Simon Case is considering quitting the Civil Service, after the latest batch of Lockdown Files WhatsApps reveal Case accused Boris of being “nationally distrusted” and described some lockdown criticism as “pure Conservative ideology”. Not the sort of thing the most senior Civil Servant in the country wants splashing on the front pages…
“Friends” of Simon Case say he is “genuinely undecided” about sticking around even up to the next election, with attacks coming from all sides in the last 24 hours. Civil Service mandarins told the Telegraph last night the leaks had “hurt his reputation” and revealed his “naivety [and] inexperience”. The Times, meanwhile, reported yesterday that Cabinet Ministers are trying to push him out: “Case is looking more and more ridiculous, I think he has to go. Rishi needs to clear him out. It’s the level of indiscretion.”
Cases’s “friends” also claim he’s “fed up” with all the briefings and leaks, and his “original sin was being young and talented and promoted to that job before he was grey“. Presumably his second sin was his direct involvement in the lockdown parties he was supposed to investigate. “Hilarious…”
John McDonnell asks Simon Case why he hasn’t initiated probe into claims Boris tried appointing Carrie to a Foreign Office job:
Simon Case: “Any investigation under the ministerial code can only be authorised by the PM”.
William Wragg: “Is he not keen?”
