Lindy Cameron appointed to lead UK Foreign Office
The high commissioner to India will become permanent undersecretary amid civil service changes and scrutiny of Olly Robbins’ dismissal.
Lindy Cameron has been appointed permanent undersecretary at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, replacing Olly Robbins in the department’s most senior civil service role.
Cameron is currently the UK high commissioner to India. The Guardian reported that her appointment makes her the Foreign Office’s first female head, a claim not independently verified in the source material.
She previously led the National Cyber Security Centre and held senior roles in the Northern Ireland Office and the Department for International Development. The appointment comes amid wider changes among senior UK civil servants.
Cameron will take over a department that has absorbed international development functions and shed jobs following cuts to the aid budget. The Foreign Office has also faced scrutiny over its handling of the Peter Mandelson affair and his security vetting before his appointment as ambassador to the United States.
Robbins was dismissed after scrutiny over what ministers were told about Mandelson’s failure to pass vetting. The Guardian reported that Robbins knew about the failed assessment but did not forward the information to ministers, while the precise basis of his dismissal remains contested.
Robbins has applied for a judicial review of the decision. Cameron’s appointment does not resolve that legal challenge or the wider scrutiny surrounding the department’s handling of the affair.
