Martin Reynolds (civil servant)
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Martin Alexander Baillie Reynolds is a British civil servant who served as Principal Private Secretary to Prime Minister
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as ...
from 2019 to 2022. Reynolds previously served as British Ambassador to Libya under Prime Minister
Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...
and as the
principal private secretary A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family. The role exists in ...
to Johnson when he served as
Foreign Secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwe ...
in May's government.


Early life

Reynolds was born in
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, England. He was educated at
Magdalen College School, Oxford Magdalen College School (MCS) is a public school (English independent day school) in Oxford, England, for boys aged seven to eighteen and for girls in the sixth form. It was founded by William Waynflete about 1480 as part of Magdalen College ...
, and
Gonville and Caius College Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...
,
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
, where he gained an undergraduate degree in law.


Career

Before entering government, Reynolds worked as a lawyer in London. From 1997, he worked at the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' ministries of foreign affairs, it was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreig ...
. Becoming a diplomat, Reynolds served at the British High Commission in
Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foothi ...
,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
as Deputy High Commissioner between July 2011 and November 2014. From December 2014 to January 2018, he was
Principal Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs The principal private secretary to the secretary of state for foreign and Commonwealth affairs is the head of the private office of the foreign minister of the His Majesty's Government, and is located in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Main B ...
, for part of that time while
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as ...
was Foreign Secretary. Reynolds was Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Libya for five months between April and September 2019. In July 2019, Johnson became prime minister, and Peter Hill resigned as
Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister The Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is a senior official in the United Kingdom Civil Service who acts as principal private secretary to the prime minister of the United Kingdom. The holder of this office i ...
. Reynolds was recalled from his overseas posting and took up that post at
10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 10, is the official residence and executive office of the first lord of the treasury, usually, by convention, the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Along w ...
in October 2019.


2020 lockdown party email

On 10 January 2022, an image leaked to
ITV News ITV News is the branding of news programmes on the British television network ITV. ITV has a long tradition of television news. Independent Television News (ITN) was founded to provide news bulletins for the network in 1955, and has since con ...
purported to show an email sent by Reynolds on 20 May 2020 inviting those at 10 Downing Street to "make the most of the lovely weather and have some socially distanced drinks" in the garden. Invitees were asked to "bring your own booze". It was reported that over 100 people were invited to this gathering, and between thirty and forty people attended. Campaigners including the
Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice (also known as Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK) is a pressure group of over 4,000 relatives of people who have died during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. The group created the Nationa ...
group called for Reynolds to be dismissed. On 3 February 2022 he resigned as Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister, but was expected to remain in place until a successor had been found. On 8 March 2022, Reynolds was succeeded by Peter Wilson. In May 2022, following the release of the investigation final report by Sue Gray, it was revealed that Reynolds had boasted he had "got away with" rule-breaking at a " bring-your-own-booze" party in May 2020. In a fragment of a message to a special adviser, he had said: "Best of luck - a complete non-story but better than them focusing on our drinks (which we seem to have got away with)." Reynolds' name was mentioned 24 times in the report.


Honours

Reynolds was appointed
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...
(CMG) in the
2018 Birthday Honours The 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as p ...
, for services to British foreign policy.


See also

* Prime Minister's Office


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reynolds, Martin Living people Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Ambassadors and High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to South Africa Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Libya British civil servants Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of HM Diplomatic Service People educated at Magdalen College School, Oxford Principal Private Secretaries to the Prime Minister Principal Private Secretaries to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 20th-century British diplomats People from Oxford Year of birth missing (living people)