When Jeremy Heywood, Britain’s most senior and admired civil servant, announced his retirement on health grounds on 24 October, his successor was immediately known. There would be no recruitment process – merely a coronation for Mark Sedwill.
Theresa May’s national security adviser was already deputising for Heywood, 56, who had been on leave since June to undergo treatment for cancer. Sedwill was the Prime Minister’s first and only choice to permanently replace the cabinet secretary.
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