WOMAN TIPPED FOR TOP NO10 JOB IN BULLYING ROW

A WHITEHALL high-flyer tipped to become the first-ever female head of the Civil Service was investigated for bullying staff and misusing expenses, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Antonia Romeo is a leading contender to replace ousted Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark

Sedwill as Britain’s most powerful mandarin, in charge of 430,000 civil servants.

But in 2017, when she was Britain’s consul general in New York, she was investigated over a flood of allegations that she had ‘terrorised’ staff who criticised her extravagant lifestyle and reportedly lavish spending.

Mrs Romeo was subsequently cleared by the Cabinet Office and promoted a few weeks later. However, critics have branded the inquiry a whitewash.

Last night the Cabinet Office said: ‘These allegations were made some time ago, were thoroughly investigated and were dismissed on the basis there was no case to answer.’

However, this newspaper has established that a senior director at the Foreign Office voiced ‘ frustration and concern’ at the

outcome of the probe. Insiders say the row about the Cabinet Office’s decision is ‘an open secret’ at top levels across Whitehall.

According to informed sources, junior staff members in the UK’s New York consulate claimed to have felt pressured to submit expenses on behalf of Mrs Romeo that they did not believe were fully justified.

Allegations of questionable spending of taxpayers’ money included more than £120,000 in fees for her three children at an upmarket New York school which had not been approved by the Foreign Office, expensive taxis and more than a dozen flights, some business class.

Officials in New York were said to be particularly aggrieved by a last-minute flight booked to London in February 2017 so that Mrs Romeo could attend that year’s Bafta awards where she rubbed shoulders with entertainment industry stars.

During her time in New York, where she promoted British interests and UK trade, Mrs Romeo hosted a series of glitzy parties for celebrity figures including Calvin Klein, Anna Wintour, Joanna Lumley and the nowdisgraced mogul Harvey Weinstein.

The cost of sending expensive bouquets of flowers to British celebrities, including Victoria Beckham, formed part of a dossier of allegations against Mrs Romeo compiled in early 2017.

Her allies insist that the spending was all part of her job to promote the UK, but some former colleagues believe she was more intent on furthering her own personal brand, rather than the UK’s interests. A source said: ‘Britain came a distant second to Antonia’s schmoozing for Antonia’s sake.’

One tearful junior official is understood to have claimed to superiors that Mrs Romeo threatened her career prospects after she ‘challenged her ideas’.

The official allegedly begged colleagues: ‘Please help me. She’s too awful.’ Mrs Romeo flatly denies bullying staff.

When news of the complaints reached London, the Foreign Office asked Sir Tim Hitchens, a former Ambassador to Japan, to conduct an internal review.

He submitted his report to the Cabinet Office, where it was decided that Mrs Romeo had no case to answer.

The Mail on Sunday has been told that Sir Tim was ‘livid’ that Mrs Romeo was cleared after he submitted his report – although the former Ambassador declined to comment when approached by The Mail on Sunday.

Within weeks, Mrs Romeo was appointed to her current role as Permanent Secretary at the Department for International Trade.

Those involved in the complaints were told on March 17, 2017, that the claims against Mrs Romeo had been dismissed.

Ten days later she took up her international trade role.

Applications to replace Sir Mark, who will leave his £210,000-a-year post in September as head of the Civil Service, closed on Friday afternoon. The Cabinet Secretary is hugely influential, not only as the civil servant closest to the Prime Minister, but also in conducting investigations and ensuring the protection of hundreds of thousands of civil servants across Whitehall and Britain.

Mounting speculation that 45-year-old Mrs Romeo may be appointed prompted furious ex-colleagues to contact this newspaper.

Last night, one said: ‘The idea of her being in charge of pastoral care of anyone is an utter joke.’