Top civil servant Sir Mark Sedwill hits out at ‘sniping’ from inside government
Britain’s outgoing top civil servant Sir Mark Sedwill has hit out against the culture of off-record media attacks in Westminster that saw him recently sustain a barrage of public criticism.
Sedwill had been the victim of numerous off-record briefings to the media about his role in the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
It has been speculated by some that the cabinet secretary was being set up to take the blame for Downing Street’s missteps during the crisis, and that Boris Johnson’s senior adviser Dominic Cummings wanted to force him from his role.
Sedwill stepped down from his dual role as cabinet secretary and national security adviser last month, after coming to an agreement with the Prime Minister.
Some media reports suggested that Cummings wanted a Brexiteer running the civil service, which he has strenuously denied.
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Sedwill told Westminster’s National Security Strategy Committee today that off-record attacks in the media were a “regrettable feature of modern politics”.
“It’s never pleasant to find one’s self, particularly as an official, in the midst of stories of that kind,” he said.
“We appear to be in an era where some of us are fair game in the media and I’m afraid it goes with the territory. I guess my successors will have to deal with some of that as well.
“I don’t think it’s ever pleasant in government – whether it’s against ministers, or between them and particularly against officials – when you have briefings to which you can’t really reply, particularly those which are off the record and sniping away.”
Sedwill was replaced in his role as national security adviser by the UK’s chief Brexit negotiator, and close Johnson ally, David Frost.
His role as cabinet secretary will be filled through a recruitment process before September.
Members of the National Security Strategy Committee questioned Sedwill as to whether Frost’s appointment was appropriate as he does not have a background in security or defence.
Frost is a former diplomat who has served as private secretary to the Head of the Diplomatic Service, economic counsellor to the British embassy in Paris and British ambassador to Denmark.
Sedwill said today that it was not particularly unusual for the role, which was created in 2010, to be filled by someone with diplomatic experience.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has nominated Sedwill for a life peerage and he is also set to lead a new G7 panel on Global Economic Security when he steps down in September.