New cabinet secretary vows to implement PM’s Whitehall ‘rewiring’

Chris Wormald emails civil servants saying he will back Keir Starmer, who wants them to ‘do things differently’

The new cabinet secretary has told the country’s half a million civil servants they must “do things differently” to deliver Keir Starmer’s plans for government, as Whitehall braced for job cuts and tighter spending.

In an email to all staff on his first day in the job, Sir Chris Wormald, taking over from Simon Case, pledged a “rewiring” of the British state, echoing the words of the prime minister on announcing his appointment.