Philip Rutnam

I have this morning resigned as permanent secretary of the Home Office. I take this decision with great regret, after a career of 33 years. I’m making the statement now because I will be issuing a claim against the Home Office for constructive dismissal. In the last ten days, I had been the target of a vicious and orchestrated briefing campaign. It has been alleged that I have briefed the media against the Home Secretary. This, along with many other claims, is completely false. The Home Secretary categorically denied any involvement in this campaign to the Cabinet Office. I regret I do not believe her. She has not made the efforts I would expect to disassociate herself from the comments.