Treasury insider is the new top official in the department

A Treasury insider with more than 20 years’ experience in the department has been appointed as the new permanent secretary, the Cabinet Office has announced.

James Bowler returns from the Department for International Trade, where he has been permanent secretary since 2022, to take up the top Civil Service job in his old department.

His appointment will be seen as a U-turn by Liz Truss who had been thought to want to bring in an outsider following the sacking of the previous permanent secretary, Sir Tom Scholar, last month.

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, who, on his first day in office, abruptly told Sir Tom his services were no longer required, was thought to favour Antonia Romeo, the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice who has never worked in the Treasury.

However, he was reportedly overruled by the Prime Minister – despite her having previously railed against Treasury “orthodoxy” – amid concerns that Sir Tom’s dismissal contributed to the market turmoil which followed the Chancellor’s mini-budget.

Two other senior officials in the department – Cat Little, the director general of public spending, and Beth Russell, the director general of tax and welfare, have been appointed a second permanent secretaries.

Welcoming the appointments, Mr Kwarteng said in a statement: “James joined the Civil Service over 20 years ago and has enormous experience delivering across a range of Government departments.

“Beth and Cat bring experience and continuity and it’s fantastic to have them as part of the Treasury’s top team.

“James has a proven track record of delivery and strong leadership, both of which will be vital as we drive towards our mission of igniting growth and raising living standards for everyone across the UK.”

Commons Treasury Committee chair Mel Stride welcomed Mr Bowler’s appointment, saying it would help calm markets after the turmoil caused by Mr Kwarteng’s mini-budget.

He told BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme: “I would say at first take that that’s a good move because what we need at the moment are safe pairs of hands.

“We need to rely on our solid institutions, we don’t want to be undermining those in any way.

“I worked with James when I was a treasury minister some years back. He is a very credible, very capable individual who I think will make a big contribution to reassuring markets.”

Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Brandon Lewis said he was “delighted” that Ms Romeo was remaining in her current post.