Starmer’s “Queen of Woke” Takes Top Civil Service Job
21st February 2026
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s newly appointed cabinet secretary, Dame Antonia Romeo, is facing mounting criticism following reports that she pushed civil servants to join a “gender non-conforming book club” and devote substantial work time to diversity initiatives.
The allegations date back to her tenure as head of the Department for International Trade (DIT) between 2017 and 2021. Documents cited by The Telegraph suggest one employee was instructed to spend up to 20% of their working hours on “inclusivity” goals. These reportedly included promoting non-binary identities, encouraging colleagues to display preferred pronouns in email signatures, celebrating “non-binary awareness week,” and recruiting non-binary staff.
Joining a “gender non-conforming book club”—where officials read novels centred on intersex and transgender themes—was allegedly written into performance targets that influenced career progression.