Will WFH mandarin who boasted of riding Peloton get job in No 10?

A PELOTON-riding mandarin may be drafted into Downing Street as part of an overhaul in the wake of the Partygate row.

Sarah Healey, permanent secretary at the culture department, last year boasted about how much she loved working from home.

The senior civil servant said it allowed her to get on her Peloton exercise bike during the day because she did not have to spend so much time commuting.

Now is she being lined up as a potential candidate as Boris Johnson creates an Office of the Prime Minister, with a permanent secretary to lead No 10. Mrs Healey has been spotted coming and going in Downing Street regularly in the past fortnight, fuelling speculation.

But a Whitehall source said yesterday this is because she is supporting officials being investigated as part of the probe into lockdown-busting parties in her role as the Civil Service’s wellbeing champion.

Last September Mrs Healey told a London Tech Week conference that the pandemic had been a ‘very, very good thing’ for flexible working. ‘I have a Peloton and I can just get on my bike whenever I have a teeny bit of time,’ she said. ‘That has been a huge benefit to my well-being.’

It also emerged that she benefited from free tickets to concerts and football matches last year. She attended the Brit Awards and two England games in the Euro championships.

Ministers are continuing to pressure civil servants to return to the office now that work from home guidance has been axed.

A source has said Mrs Healey had worked in Whitehall every day since work from home curbs were eased.