David Normington

There he was responsible variously for the previous Government’s programme of trade union reform, for measures to reduce unemployment, and for youth training.

From there he moved on to become DfEE’s Director-General for Strategy and Analytical Services and for the International Division in the run-up to the UK Presidency of the European Union.

[4] He has been called "something more akin to James Bond than a top civil servant”,[5] and his nickname in his previous appointment as permanent secretary at the Department for Education and Skills was ‘the smiling assassin’.

This decision came in advance of the subsequent budget announcing a large reduction of the civil service as a whole, leading some to speculate that Normington had made his own cuts early in an attempt to curry favour.

[13] Illegitimate and unauthorised attempts have allegedly been made to exploit Normington's reputation by improperly using his name to sponsor or lend credibility to entry clearance and visa applications by foreign nationals seeking to come to the United Kingdom.