Simon Case: a perfect combination of Whitehall experience and political clout

Simon Case, the former royal adviser tipped as the next head of the civil service, has quickly established himself as one of the Prime Minister’s most trusted lieutenants.

The Barbour jacket-wearing father-of-two is expected to be announced as the Government's next Cabinet Secretary on Tuesday, in an appointment that will prove critical to Boris Johnson’s flailing administration.

As well as helping to oversee the civil service reform instigated by Dominic Cummings, the quick-thinking doctor of philosophy will be expected to liberally oil the Whitehall machinery to ensure it is both Brexit and Covid-proofed for the future.

His rapid promotion, just three months after he was seconded from Kensington Palace in May to become Number 10’s new permanent secretary, echoes a stratospheric rise up the ranks that has seen Case dubbed “the Rolls Royce of Sir Humphreys” at the tender age of 41.

As the Duke of Cambridge’s right-hand man, Case modernised William and Kate’s operation, turning the Cambridge's into the Royal Family’s resident troopers following Harry and Meghan’s departure.

Although William was sad to lose him, Case’s experience of an organisation as dysfunctional as the royal household stood him in perfect stead as he switched his focus to improving Downing Street’s somewhat haphazard Covid-19 response.

With a previous history serving under David Cameron, Theresa May, at GCHQ and on Brexit, Cambridge-educated Case’s appointment was widely regarded as an attempt to make Number 10 less ‘Cummings’ contingent’, and inject someone "experience at the centre" into the heart of the team.

Described as “patriotic to his core”, a “passionate unionist” but also “a bit of a gossip”, Case has quickly become a natural bedfellow for Mr Johnson, despite what some have described as a ‘slightly pompous’ approach.

His penchant for occasionally having a quiet word with carefully-chosen journalists used to land him in hot water with Mrs May’s joint chiefs of staff Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill. On one occasion he agreed to go on the record denying a Mail On Sunday headlined: “Furious mandarins who feel ‘sidelined’ by PM’s Brummie Rasputin’, a reference to the then bearded Mr Timothy.

Yet, as a former journalist himself, Mr Johnson is unlikely to be troubled by rumours that Case was the author of a Guardian piece by a senior GCHQ officer (“Peter”), explaining why the intelligence services needed to collect bulk data to do its work. It was published when he was working there as director of strategy from 2015 to 2016.

His securocrat heritage always set Case apart from his more remainiac Whitehall colleagues. According to someone who worked with him at close quarters on Brexit, he boasted that rare quality in a civil servant of “being able to see across both sides of the EU divide.”

The source added: “Simon’s the kind of guy who signs up to serve Queen and country. He could absolutely understand why people voted to leave.”

Described as “not a part” of Olly Robbins’ “tight inner circle” amid rumours he did not see eye to eye with Mrs May’s Europe adviser, Case left Downing Street and took up his post as director general for the UK-EU Partnership in May 2017.

Could he have even voted leave? We will never know, but throughout the Brexit process, the Bristol-born problem solver quickly established himself as a wise head on young shoulders having been credited with helping to solve the Northern Ireland border issue.

“He’s very calm, very clever and a very clear thinker," said one insider. "I never saw him get cross or lose his temper. He never flapped. He's someone who can navigate complex systems and difficult personalities."

Although described as “sometimes getting on Theresa’s nerves,” he served as her private secretary for nearly 18 months from 2016, a stint which ended with the Queen appointing him a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in 2017.

Legend has it David Cameron had wanted to nominate Case for a knighthood after he worked for him from 2014 to 2016. The rookie is thought to have been taken aside by Sir Jeremy Heywood, then the Cabinet Secretary, and told it was far too early in his career to accept such an accolade.

“He secretly wanted to take the knighthood”, revealed one former colleague.

With HM’s personal honour under his belt, it was no surprise when, in March 2018, Case was announced as William’s new private secretary.

He took up the post in July, just two months after the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Little did he realise that the deteriorating relationship between royal brothers was about to explode into a constitutional crisis, eventually leading to Harry and Meghan stepping down as senior royals less than two years later.

Cleverly forging a close partnership with the Queen’s private secretary Sir Edward Young, the most powerful aide at Buckingham Palace, Case was instrumental in elevating William’s statesmanlike image, to the disquiet of Harry, who felt pushed out by four-generations of royalty photo ops he helped to engineer.

Little wonder, then, that Mr Johnson felt the need to personally telephone the second-in-line to the throne for permission to borrow his invaluable ‘Man Friday’.

Although his posting to Downing Street was initially described as a ‘secondment’, insiders both royal and political always doubted Case would ever return to the palace, with his reputation for “getting things done” making an immediate impression on the PM.

It is thought he will remain in contact with the Duke, who has become a "close personal friend," according to one royal source.

A former Downing Street aide added: “Simon has the ability to forge relationships across the civil service and political divide which will make him invaluable to the PM. That combination of Whitehall experience and political clout is quite a rare thing.”

In Cummings, Mr Johnson has his resident grenade thrower. But having seemingly promoted someone more adept at diffusing bombs to the highest ranking civil servant in Britain, Simon Case’s appointment appears emblematic of the PM's desire to switch from campaigning to governing.