It might only have been two sentences long and dressed in formal language, but Sir Alex Allan’s resignation statement made his feelings abundantly clear. “I recognise that it is for the prime minister to make a judgment on whether actions by a minister amount to a breach of the ministerial code,” said the veteran civil servant – who helped oversee MI5, MI6 and GCHQ in his former role as chairman of the joint intelligence committee – adding: “But I feel that it is right that I should now resign from my position as the prime minister’s independent adviser on the code.” His resignation on Friday came in the wake of his findings, based on a Cabinet Office inquiry, concluding that the approach of the home secretary, Priti Patel, “amounted to behaviour that can be described as bullying” – noting instances of shouting and swearing – and deciding that she had therefore breached the ministerial code, even if unintentionally. Boris Johnson, however, decided otherwise. As the sole arbiter of the rules, the prime minister stood by Patel, concluding in his view that she had not broken the ministerial code. So Allan might be off, but who exactly is he? The 69-year-old has held a long career in the civil service, according to a government profile, which lists his previous roles, including: principal private secretary to the chancellor and to the prime minister; high commissioner to Australia; the government’s ‘e-envoy’; permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice; and chairman of the joint intelligence committee.
When he was appointed to chair the joint intelligence committee in 2007, a series of details about his personal life were unearthed from his personal website in a security blunder. Among the more colourful entries, the website revealed him to be a devoted fan of American rock band The Grateful Dead, as well as disclosing that during a train strike he once windsurfed to work in Westminster wearing a bowler hat and suit. However, it emerged that the website also disclosed details of his address as well as his telephone numbers. Separately, the following year Allan fell into a coma after reportedly being found covered in blood by an artist who worked at his house. He regained consciousness after 10 days, with government sources indicating at the time there was no sign of foul play. • This article was amended on 23 November 2020 to add the credit for the photographer who took the image of Allan windsurfing to work: Ken Towner.