Cabinet secretary Wormald ‘continues to have PM’s support’ says No 10

The country’s top civil servant Sir Chris Wormald “continues to have the support” of Sir Keir Starmer although the Prime Minister wants government to move “further and faster”.

Downing Street said Sir Keir was “working closely” with Sir Chris following reports that he could face being sacked as cabinet secretary within months.

The Times reported that sources believed Sir Chris, who was appointed in December last year, was unlikely to survive beyond January.

A No 10 insider told the newspaper: “Chris is a parody of every civil service stereotype.

“He is given clear instructions on an issue and says we will be able to deliver it only after we’ve commissioned a wide-reaching review that reports sometime in the mid-2080s.”

As a career civil servant, Sir Chris’s appointment raised eyebrows at a time when Sir Keir was pushing a desire to rewire the British state.

But a No 10 spokesman told reporters at Westminster: “The cabinet secretary continues to have the support of the Prime Minister, and they’re working closely together to deliver on the priorities of the British public, which includes restructuring government to focus on delivery for the British people, delivering outcomes like five million extra NHS appointments, upskilling, and modernising the civil service and driving efficiencies across governments to focus spending on public services.”

Asked if Sir Keir was frustrated about the pace of delivery under his government, the spokesman said the Prime Minister’s “general position” was that “he would like things to move further and faster”.