Top Treasury official sacked by Liz Truss gets UK public service award

Tom Scholar awarded by the UK government for his exemplary service just months after he lost his job.

Tom Scholar served as permanent secretary in the Treasury from 2016 until September 2022 | UK Government

BY SEBASTIAN WHALE
DECEMBER 30, 2022 

LONDON — Tom Scholar, a casualty of ex-Prime Minister Liz Truss’ efforts to do away with years of economic “orthodoxy” at the U.K. Treasury, has been given an award in the country’s new year’s honors list.

Scholar, who served as permanent secretary in the Treasury from 2016 until September 2022 when he was swiftly dumped by Truss’ Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, has been given a so-called “Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath,” an award given to members of the U.K. military or civil service for exemplary service.

Scholar’s sacking just two days after Truss became prime minister was seen as symbolic of her radical approach to economic policy and was criticized in some quarters for depriving the Treasury of institutional memory.

Former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s subsequent so-called "mini-budget," during which he unveiled large tax cuts without explaining how they would be paid for, triggered turmoil in the markets. Truss resigned just 44 days after entering Downing Street.

Other notable names in the new year’s honors list include Labour MP Chris Bryant, a prominent campaigning backbencher and select committee chairman who has been a frequent critic of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Bryant has been given a knighthood for political and public service. COP26 President Alok Sharma has also been awarded a knighthood, as has former head of the U.K. civil service Mark Sedwill.

Also knighted for political and public service is Conservative MP Julian Lewis, who was kicked out of the party in July 2020 after successfully running for a top parliamentary scrutiny body, beating the government’s preferred candidate in the process. He was readmitted six months later.

John Benger, the most senior official in the House of Commons, becomes a Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath, while Conservative MPs Andrew Stephenson and Helen Grant also receive honors.

Two former aides to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, were also honored. Jason Knauf has been made a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (RVO), while Sara Latham, who also previously advised Presidents Clinton and Obama and Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, was given a Lieutenant of the Victorian Order (LVO).