The Foreign Office has its first female head after the appointment of Lindy Cameron, the high commissioner to India.
Cameron’s new role as permanent undersecretary at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office means she will replace Olly Robbins, who was sacked over the Peter Mandelson scandal.
Her appointment comes at a time of wider change at the top of the civil service, as Cat Little, formerly leading the Cabinet Office, is moving to become permanent secretary of the Department for Business and Trade, and Tom Riordan, a former local government official, is taking the top job at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Cameron is a former chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre and has also held senior roles at the Northern Ireland Office and the former Department for International Development.
Ed Miliband, the foreign secretary, said she brought “enormous experience across the fields of diplomacy, development and national security, and a reputation for dynamic leadership in postings across the world, most recently as high commissioner in India”.
He said the Foreign Office under her leadership would be “committed to promoting British values and interests”.
Antonia Romeo, the cabinet secretary, said Cameron had an “excellent track record in security and diplomacy, combined with her considerable experience in international development”.
Cameron will enter the Foreign Office after a period of turmoil for the department during which it has been shedding jobs after Keir Starmer cut the aid budget. It had absorbed the international development function after the separate department was abolished under the Conservatives.
The Foreign Office has also faced scrutiny over its handling of the Mandelson affair, after he was appointed as ambassador to the US before being removed over the depth of his links to Jeffrey Epstein, and revelations about his alleged leaking of government information while a minister.
Robbins was dismissed from his post by Starmer after the then prime minister said he did not feel he had been given the whole picture about Mandelson’s failure to pass vetting. The Guardian revealed that Mandelson failed his security vetting in January 2025 during the process to appoint him as ambassador to the US.
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It is said that Robbins knew about Mandelson’s failure to pass the UK Security Vetting assessment but did not forward that information to ministers. Starmer claimed he was not made aware of the outcome of the vetting process until months later.
Robbins has since submitted a legal challenge over his dismissal, applying to the high court for a judicial review of the decision to remove him.
