Seasoned Whitehall watchers often remark: "It wouldn't have been like this if Jeremy Heywood were still around." ... How could it be that the effectiveness of the once-revered civil service had become reliant on a single man?' Guardian The inside biography of the UK's most powerful civil servant. As a young civil servant, Jeremy Heywood's insightful questioning of the status quo pushed him to the centre of political power in this country for more than 25 years.

He served directly four Prime Ministers in various roles including as the Principal...