The UK’s ambassador to the European Union Sir Tim Barrow is building his team with two new senior appointments.
Katrina Williams, currently at BEIS, will join the UK Permanent Representation to the EU (UKREP) as deputy permanent representative, and Simon Case will leave his post as Theresa May’s principal private secretary to become director general for the UK-EU partnership.
Barrow, who was himself only appointed to the top diplomatic post earlier this year after the dramatic resignation of Sir Ivan Rogers, said of Williams and Case: “Both have extensive experience of government and a strong record of policy and corporate leadership.
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“These appointments complete the UKREP leadership team, as we continue to play our role as a full member of the European Union and as we prepare to leave and seek a new partnership with our friends and allies in Europe.”
As deputy permanent representative, Williams will sit on the EU committee responsible for economic, social and environmental matters.
She is currently the director general, international and growth in the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and has previously held DG posts in the energy and climate department and Defra.
Williams also served as deputy head of the European Secretariat in the Cabinet Office from 2003 to 2006, advising Tony Blair on European issues before and during the UK’s last presidency of the EU in 2005.
She joined the civil service in 1983 and spent a decade working in the Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food before joining a team scrutinising the implementation of EU law and subsequently moving to work at UKREP from 1993 to 1996.
Williams had another spell at UKREP from 1999-2003, and has also worked in the Foreign Office and trade department.
Case, meanwhile, is currently the principal private secretary to prime minister Theresa May, having been appointed by May's predecessor David Cameron in January 2016. He is also the UK’s Sherpa for the G7 and G20, and was previously director of strategy at GCHQ.
In his new role, Case will be heading up UKREP’s contbribution to leaving and then building a new relationship with the EU. He joined the civil service in 2006 and has worked in the Cabinet Office, Ministry of Defence and Northern Ireland Office.