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| Ex-civil service chief Sir Jeremy Heywood dies | Ex-civil service chief Sir Jeremy Heywood dies |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Sir Jeremy Heywood, former cabinet secretary and civil service head, has died of cancer aged 56, Downing Street has announced. | Sir Jeremy Heywood, former cabinet secretary and civil service head, has died of cancer aged 56, Downing Street has announced. |
| Sir Jeremy was cabinet secretary from 2012 until 2018 and head of the civil service between 2014 and 2018. | Sir Jeremy was cabinet secretary from 2012 until 2018 and head of the civil service between 2014 and 2018. |
| PM Theresa May said "he worked tirelessly to serve our country" and is a "huge loss to British public life". | |
| Labour's Yvette Cooper said Sir Jeremy had done "a lot to hold government together at very difficult times". | Labour's Yvette Cooper said Sir Jeremy had done "a lot to hold government together at very difficult times". |
| The cabinet secretary is head of the civil service and is sometimes described as the second most powerful person in the government after the prime minister. | |
| Cabinet secretaries keep a low public profile but they sit next to the PM at cabinet meetings - and it is their job to ensure policies are put into action and offer advice on running the machinery of government. | |
| Sir Jeremy had a long career at the top of government, serving four prime ministers in different roles. | |
| He managed former Labour PM Tony Blair's differences with his chancellor, organised Gordon Brown's Downing Street, helped to hold the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition together, and, finally, supported Mrs May's minority administration. | |
| He first joined the civil service in 1983 and Sir Mark Sedwill, his successor as cabinet secretary and head of the civil service, described him as an "exemplary public servant". | |
| "We will miss him more than we can say," Sir Mark said, adding the country "will be the poorer without his advice, leadership and extraordinary insight". | |
| The prime minister described the news as "extremely sad" and said her thoughts were with Sir Jeremy's family. | |
| Sir Jeremy's wife, Suzanne, said: "He could light up any room or conversation" | |
| "For me, he was my wonderful partner for 22 years. We shared everything and I will miss him more than I can say" |