Prime Minister Keir Starmer has plunged his government into an open confrontation with the Civil Service, facing a furious backlash from Whitehall grandees after the brutal and abrupt sacking of Cabinet Secretary Chris Wormald—a move described by predecessors as "shabby" and "disastrous."

The defenestration of the UK’s most senior civil servant, just a year after he was appointed by Starmer himself, has shattered the fragile truce between Downing Street’s political operators and the permanent bureaucracy. As Starmer jets off to the Munich Security Conference to talk global defense, his domestic administration is being accused of conducting a "hit job" on its own officials through a campaign of cowardly anonymous briefings.

"Get a Grip": The O'Donnell Intervention

The criticism is being led by Lord Gus O’Donnell, the former Cabinet Secretary who served three Prime Ministers. In a blistering intervention on the Today programme, O’Donnell dismantled the Prime Minister’s handling of the affair. "Where it is shabby is the fact that we’ve got to this place... they have briefed anonymously against the cabinet secretary," O'Donnell raged. "This is a process that this government, I’m afraid, is one of their biggest failings."

The narrative emerging from the corridors of power is one of a dysfunctional Number 10 looking for scapegoats. O’Donnell pointed the finger squarely at Starmer’s special advisers (Spads), whom he labeled as "second-rate PR people" obsessed with spin rather than governance. The implication is damning: the Prime Minister is not in control of his own court, allowing vicious factional infighting to destabilize the machinery of state.

• The Briefing War: For weeks, newspapers have been filled with "insider" quotes claiming Wormald was "not up to the job," a classic Westminster assassination tactic designed to make his position untenable.
• The Payoff Scandal: Questions are now being asked about the £260,000 exit package Wormald is reportedly receiving—a "golden goodbye" authorized by a subordinate, creating a glaring conflict of interest.
• The Pattern: This follows the messy exit of Sue Gray, establishing a pattern of high-profile casualties in Starmer's inner circle that suggests a toxic work culture.

A Government at War with Itself

The sacking of Chris Wormald is more than a personnel issue; it is a constitutional tremor. The Civil Service relies on neutrality and trust to function. By allowing his aides to publicly savage the head of the service, Starmer has sent a chilling message to every official in Whitehall: loyalty offers no protection against political expediency.

As the Prime Minister attempts to focus on international security in Munich, his authority at home is fraying. He promised a government of service and stability, but the "shabby" treatment of Wormald looks like the chaotic maneuvering of a panicked administration. The "Omnishambles" label, once reserved for his predecessors, is beginning to stick.