Boris Johnson today gave the country’s most senior civil servant paintings of Queen Elizabeth I’s “spymaster” as a leaving present.
The Prime Minister gave the outgoing Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill paintings of Sir Francis Walsingham, Downing Street revealed.
Sir Mark uniquely held the role of National Security Adviser while also serving as Cabinet Secretary - which meant he worked closely with the security and intelligence agencies.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman told a briefing of Westminster journalists: “The Prime Minister and the Cabinet thanked Sir Mark Sedwill for all of his hard work and years of dedication to public service on his final day as Cabinet Secretary.
“The Prime Minister presented him with some paintings of Sir Francis Walsingham. He was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I but was popularly remembered as the Spymaster.”
Sir Francis built up a spy network for Elizabeth I, using merchants and undercover agents to gather intelligence from across Europe.
The new Cabinet Secretary Simon Case also attended this morning’s cabinet meeting before he formally takes over tomorrow.
The PM’s spokesman also revealed that Sir Mark is stepping down as National Security Advisor [NSA] on September 16.
He said the deputy NSA David Quarrey will take over from Sir Mark provisionally until date in October.
