No.10 briefings against Cabinet Secretary Chris Wormald “stink of political cowardice”, Penman says

Following a report from The Times, FDA General Secretary Dave Penman has condemned briefings from No.10 sources that Cabinet Secretary Chris Wormald had lost the confidence of senior figures in Downing Street and would likely be replaced by January next year.

Speaking to The Guardian, Penman pushed back against the briefings, saying: 

“Chris Wormald ​is the civil servant’s civil servant​. That is apparently what ​Starmer wanted, someone who won’t be making headlines.

“Even if he was failing to deliver what he is supposed to deliver​, this isn’t the way to deal with it. It stinks of political ​cowardice. It’s hugely damaging because what does it say about the ​political leadership?

“What does it say ​to who​ever is going to replace him and candidates who would want to come after him? They will​ wonder if they will find themselves out of favour​ after six months.”

As reported in the Financial Times, the General Secretary also said:

“These anonymous briefings are hugely damaging and self-defeating… Scapegoating the civil service didn’t work as a strategy for the last government and it won’t work for this one.”

Penman discussed the report in an opinion piece for Civil Service World, in which he outlined the potential damage such briefings can have: 

“Briefings are designed to be vague and difficult to challenge. In Wormald’s case it is essentially the ‘Sir Humphrey’ parody played out, based on his career and background with little evidence to substantiate any actual criticism. Create a stereotype and justify it with an anecdote. It’s a tried and tested method used relentlessly by Dominic Cummings to undermine the leadership of the civil service. Interesting that some in No.10 now appear to favour him as their role model.

“For any Cummings admirers in No.10 reading this piece, publicly undermining senior officials has a chilling effect throughout the civil service, from the leadership group down. Civil servants can’t publicly defend themselves. When political leaders allow briefing against them, civil servants often have to get permission to push back from the same advisers who orchestrated the campaign against them. Everyone knows this, yet civil servants are forced to go through the charade of everyone tutting, being disappointed in the briefing whilst expressing fake concern and bewilderment at the source.”

Penman’s criticism of the briefings was also reported by the Daily Mail and various local publications.