Dame Antonia Romeo Faces Allegations of Self-Promotion and Bullying from Staff
The frontrunner to become the next Cabinet Secretary has been branded a 'shameless' self-promoter by her former staff, according to newly emerged details. Dame Antonia Romeo, who currently serves as one of three acting Cabinet Secretaries, faced serious complaints during her tenure as HM Consul General to New York approximately a decade ago.
Allegations of Personal Brand Obsession
Junior colleagues accused Dame Antonia of caring more about her personal profile than her official duties while representing the British government in the United States. In a particularly striking claim, staff alleged that she demanded they cover the bathroom of her official residence with framed articles about her from prestigious publications like Vogue magazine and the New Yorker.
According to emails reported by the BBC, the intention was that 'regardless of how you use the bathroom, you have to stare at a photo of her in a magazine spread staring back at you.' One message explicitly stated: 'Antonia's obsession with promoting her personal brand over the work and priorities of HMG [HM Government] has created an untenably tense and bullying atmosphere for all staff.'
Bullying and Lavish Spending Claims
Another former colleague expressed concern about her focus, writing: 'I'm extremely alarmed that Antonia, who holds one of the highest diplomatic positions here in the United States, seems to be focusing an undue amount on building her personal Twitter brand.'
As previously revealed by the Mail on Sunday, Dame Antonia was also accused of bullying staff who criticized her extravagant spending habits. Specific allegations included demanding a $100,000 repainting of her official residence and arranging costly flights back to the United Kingdom.
Investigation and Controversial Outcome
An initial investigation conducted in early 2017 found that Dame Antonia had a 'serious case to answer' after former ambassador Sir Tim Hitchens was flown to the United States to carry out a week-long probe. During this investigation, he spoke with numerous colleagues who worked under her leadership in New York.
Sir Tim's report was subsequently submitted to Lord McDonald of Salford, who served as the Permanent Secretary at the Foreign Office at that time. Despite these findings, the Cabinet Office later informed Dame Antonia that 'there is no case to answer' and merely provided her with advice regarding her management and leadership style.
A source questioned this outcome to The Times: 'The Foreign Office did a full investigation and found a serious case to answer which the Cabinet Office then ignored. So how did they reach that conclusion when they did not do their own investigation?'
Political Backlash and Gender Debate
As negative briefing against Dame Antonia intensified, Labour grandee Baroness Harman suggested she was being unfairly targeted due to the government's mistakes in other recent appointments. Baroness Harman linked the attacks to Sir Keir Starmer's controversial decision to appoint Lord Mandelson as US Ambassador despite knowledge of his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
She also referenced the recent peerage granted to Lord Doyle, Sir Keir's former spin chief, despite reports that he had campaigned for a convicted sex offender. On social media, Baroness Harman wrote: 'Seems like the major errors in the appointment of two men (Mandelson/Doyle) are the pretext to unleash the trashing of a woman (Antonia Romeo). Failing to conduct due diligence on men doesn't justify hounding a woman. Mysogeny [sic] having a field day right here! It needs to stop!'
Government Defense and Current Status
The government has consistently defended Dame Antonia throughout these allegations. The Cabinet Office issued a statement clarifying: 'One formal complaint was raised nine years ago — which was thoroughly investigated and the allegations were dismissed on the basis there was no case to answer. While serving as consul-general in New York, Antonia Romeo was on secondment from the Cabinet Office, therefore decisions about the relevant complaint were made by the Cabinet Office. This is standard practice.'
On Monday, Sir Keir Starmer's spokesman told reporters that Dame Antonia represents an 'outstanding leader with a 25-year record of excellent public service, including having been appointed to three permanent secretary roles.' She is now considered a leading candidate to secure the Cabinet Secretary position permanently following Sir Chris Wormald's departure from the role.
