Sir Roy Alexander Stone (born 1961) is a former British civil servant. From 2000 until 2021, he was

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 the Government Chief Whip.

Career

Born in 1961, Stone joined HM Civil Service in 1977 to work in project management in the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

(MoD). In 1983, he moved to the

MoD Procurement Executive The MoD Procurement Executive was the acquisition organisation of the Ministry of Defence. The Procurement Executive (widely known as ''PE'') was established on 2 August 1971 as a single procurement agency for all three services with Derek Rayner ...

. In 1988, he joined the staff 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 ...

as a duty clerk, then working as a parliamentary clerk from 1989 to 1998."Stone, Sir Roy (Alexander)"
''Who's Who'' (online ed., Oxford University Press, December 2019). Retrieved 10 March 2020. In 1998, he joined the office of the Government Chief Whip and worked as deputy to the Principal Private Secretary,

Murdo Maclean Sir Murdo Maclean (born 1943) is a Scottish former civil servant and non-executive director. Maclean worked at the Employment Exchange in Govan from 1963 to 1964, when he was appointed to the Board of Trade. Three years later he was seconded to th ...

. Stone succeeded Maclean on the latter's retirement in 2000 and has held the office since."New Year Honours - High Awards"
(Cabinet Office, 28 December 2018). Retrieved 10 March 2020. Part of his role was to ensure that there was enough parliamentary time to pass the government's legislation; this entailed liaising with government ministers and opposition officials.Jill Sherman, "Chief Whip's link to retire", ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'', 4 September 2000, p. 11.

Honours

He was appointed a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

"for parliamentary and public service" in the

2014 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2014 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

,
The London Gazette
', 1 December 2013 (supplement, no 60728), p. 9. and a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are ...

in the

2019 New Year Honours The 2019 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

. In justifying his knighthood, the

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government object ...

stated that Stone "is an outstanding senior civil servant... responsible for the effective operation of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

Business Management team ... he has given unstinting service to twelve Chief Whips, and has played a vital role in delivering the Government's legislative priorities over this period".

References

1961 births British civil servants Knights Bachelor Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Living people {{UK-gov-bio-stub