The Lord Case | |
|---|---|
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| Member of the House of Lords | |
| Life peerage 17 July 2025 | |
| In office 9 September 2020 – 15 December 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Boris Johnson Liz Truss Rishi Sunak Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Sir Mark Sedwill |
| Succeeded by | Sir Chris Wormald |
| Downing Street Permanent Secretary | |
| In office 22 May 2020 – 1 September 2020 | |
| Prime Minister | Boris Johnson |
| Preceded by | Jeremy Heywood(2012) |
| Succeeded by | Samantha Jones(Acting; 2022) |
| Private Secretary to the Duke of Cambridge | |
| In office 2018–2020 | |
| Preceded by | Miguel Head |
| Succeeded by | Christian Jones |
| Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister | |
| In office 11 January 2016 – 10 May 2017 | |
| Prime Minister | David Cameron Theresa May |
| Preceded by | Chris Martin |
| Succeeded by | Peter Hill |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1978-12-27)27 December 1978 (age 47) |
| Party | None (crossbencher) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Trinity College, Cambridge (BA) Queen Mary, University of London (PhD) |
Simon Case, Baron Case (born 27 December 1978) is a Britishcivil servant who served asCabinet Secretary andHead of the Home Civil Service from September 2020 to December 2024.
Case wasDowning StreetPermanent Secretary to Prime MinisterBoris Johnson from May to September 2020.[1] That role had been vacant for eight years afterSir Jeremy Heywood left in 2012. From January 2016 to May 2017, Case served underDavid Cameron andTheresa May asPrincipal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister.[2] In September 2024, Case announced his intention to resign before the end of the year on health grounds.[3]
Case was born on 27 December 1978 inBristol, England.[4] He was educated atBristol Grammar School, anindependent school.[5] He studied history atTrinity College, Cambridge, graduating with aBachelor of Arts (BA) degree.[2][4] While at Cambridge, he rowed and was President ofCambridge University Lightweight Rowing Club.[6] He then undertookpostgraduate research inpolitical history atQueen Mary, University of London, and he was awardedDoctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree fromUniversity of London in 2007.[2][4][7] Hisdoctoral supervisor was ProfessorPeter Hennessy, and his thesis was entitledTheJoint Intelligence Committee and theGerman Question, 1947–61.[8] He signed up as aRoyal Marines reservist while still at school, and subsequently transferred to theArmy Reserve, serving for eight years overall.[9]
Case joined theCivil Service in 2006.[2] He worked first within theMinistry of Defence as a policy adviser.[10] He then worked in theNorthern Ireland Office and theCabinet Office.[2] In 2012, he served as Head of the OlympicSecretariat, a temporary team within the Cabinet Office that was set up to oversee the delivery of the2012 Summer Olympics.[10][11]
From 2012 and July 2014, Case worked at10 Downing Street as aprivate secretary to the Prime Minister and then as DeputyPrincipal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister.[2] He then returned to the Cabinet Office, where he was Executive Director of the Implementation Group.[10] In March 2015, he joinedGovernment Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) as Director of Strategy.[12]
On 8 January 2016, Case was announced as the nextPrincipal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister in succession toChris Martin who had died while in office. He took up the appointment on 11 January 2016.[2][12]
In March 2017, Case was announced as the Director General for the UK–EU Partnership, being succeeded byPeter Hill as Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister on 10 May 2017.[13] He took up the post in May 2017.[14] In this role he was "leading the UK Government's work on exiting and seeking a new partnership with the European Union within theUK Representation to the EU".[13] On23 June 2017, he was appointed aCommander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in recognition of his service as Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister.[15]
In January 2018, he was appointed Director General Northern Ireland and Ireland:[16] in this role, he acted as the lead civil servant for finding a solution to theIrish border issue post-Brexit.[17]
In March 2018, it was announced that Case would be the next Private Secretary toPrince William, Duke of Cambridge; he took up the appointment in July 2018.[18] Also in 2018, Case was appointed a visiting professor atKing's College London, having previously been a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the university.[19]
In July 2020 in messages between Case andSir Mark Sedwill, Case wrote, "I've never seen people less well-equipped to run a country". Case wrote to Sedwill: "At this rate I will struggle to last six months. These people are so mad. Not poisonous towards me (yet), but they are just madly self-defeating."[20]
In August 2020 Case was chosen by Prime MinisterBoris Johnson asCabinet Secretary andHead of the Civil Service, succeedingMark Sedwill[21][22] on 9 September 2020,[23] the youngest Cabinet Secretary to date.[24]
In April 2021, in light of theGreensill scandal, Case ordered all civil servants to declare paid roles or outside interests that "might conflict" with Civil Service rules after it emerged that a senior official had joined a firm while still a civil servant.[25]
On 15 June 2021, Case and Prime Minister Johnson jointly signed aDeclaration on Government Reform intended to improve the way government operates in the UK.[26]
In December 2021, the Prime Minister appointed Case to lead an inquiry into theWestminster Christmas parties controversy, where government departments had been alleged to have carried out social gatherings in late 2020 in contravention ofCOVID-19 regulations.[27] Just over a week later, on 17 December 2021, it was announced that he was to recuse himself from the inquiry because of reports that a party had been held in his private office.[28] The next day, on 18 December 2021, Case officially resigned from the inquiry position.[29] His role in the inquiry was taken over by the civil servantSue Gray.
In a letter to civil servants in May 2022, Case said that up to 91,000 civil servants would lose their jobs to return it to 2016 levels, which would be the biggest decrease in staff since theSecond World War. Case said civil service staffing had grown "substantially" since 2016, partly because of the pandemic. "We must consider how we can streamline our workforce and equip ourselves with the skills we need to be an even more effective, lean and innovative service that continues to deliver for the people we serve," he wrote.[30]
On 8 September 2022, Case informed then-Prime MinisterLiz Truss thatQueen Elizabeth II had died.[31]
On 13 September 2022, Case was appointed a member of thePrivy Council of King Charles III.[32]
On 24 July 2024, it was reported Case was advised by his medical team to stand down in 2025 due to deteriorating health conditions; Case is suffering from a neurological condition which means he is unable to walk without a stick.[33]
In September 2024 he was under pressure to bring forward his departure date, amid anger over a series of damaging leaks and briefings.[34]
Case was the highest ranking public official to be implicated in the 'partygate' scandal; however, he stated he would not resign.[35] Junior colleagues were reportedly furious that Case did not have to pay a penalty for the parties, despite having to recuse himself from investigating them.[36]
In evidence from the Commons privileges committee, which found that the former prime minister deliberately misled MPs over lockdown gatherings, Case denied giving Boris Johnson any reassurances that Covid rules and guidance were followed at all times.[37]
In early March 2023,The Daily Telegraph published a number ofWhatsApp messages from the UK'sCOVID-19 lockdown period, named theLockdown Files. Case, who was said to be in discussion with the then-Health SecretaryMatt Hancock, reportedly mocked holidaymakers stuck in hotel rooms by the UK's quarantine policy, saying it was "hilarious" and how he wanted to "see some of the faces of people coming out of first class and into aPremier Inn shoe box".[38] In some messages Case said how some opposition to COVID restrictions were "pure Conservative ideology".[39]
Case described Johnson as "nationally distrusted figure" and warned the public were unlikely to follow isolation rules laid down by him.[40]
In October 2023, Case was expected to appear before theUK Covid-19 Inquiry to give evidence, but his appearance was delayed by a "private medical matter" that required Case to take a leave of absence from his position.[41] Later, in November 2023, given the ongoing postponement of his evidence session, "private medical information" relating to Case was shared to core members of the Covid Inquiry;[42] this was accompanied by a Restriction Order forbidding the disclosure of the aforementioned medical notes by recipients.[43]
In February 2025, Case became the chair of Team Barrow, a partnership between government,Westmorland and Furness Council, andBAE Systems to support theBarrow-in-Furness economy in an area heavily dependent on theBAE Systems Submarines shipyard. It is part of a government-funded £200 million project to develop the area.[44][45]
Before the2025 budget Case stated voters will look elsewhere ifRachel Reeves does not use the budget to show that “centre-ground” politicians can fix the UK’s entrenched economic problems.[46]
On 17 June 2025, it was announced that Case was to be awarded alife peerage, and will sit in theHouse of Lords as acrossbencher.[47] He was created asBaron Case, ofFairford in the County of Gloucestershire on 17 July 2025.[48][49] He wasintroduced to the House of Lords on 22 July 2025.[50]
In 2007, Case marriedElizabeth Kistruck, who later becamechief finance officer for online used car marketplaceMotorway.[4] Case was a member of theGarrick Club[51] until March 2024, when he resigned from it due to criticism of its men-only membership policy.[52] He rejoined it six months later.[53]
On 13 September 2022, Case was appointed a member of thePrivy Council of King Charles III, therefore receiving the honorificThe Right Honourable.[32]
| Country | Date | Appointment | Ribbon | Post-nominal letters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 23 June 2017 | Commander of the Royal Victorian Order |  | CVO | [15] |
| 6 February 2022 | Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal |  | [54] | ||
| 6 May 2023 | King Charles III Coronation Medal |  | [55] |
The Prime Minister has appointed Simon Case as the Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service. Simon is currently the Permanent Secretary in Number 10.
Case, 42, the youngest-ever cabinet secretary
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister 2016–2017 | Succeeded by |
| Vacant Title last held by Jeremy Heywood | Downing StreetPermanent Secretary 2020 | Vacant Title last held by Samantha JonesActing |
| Preceded by | Head of the Home Civil Service Cabinet Secretary 2020–2024 | Succeeded by |
| Incumbent | ||
| Court offices | ||
| Preceded by Miguel Head | Private Secretary to the Duke of Cambridge 2018–2020 | Succeeded by Christian Jones |
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