Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister The Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister is a senior official in the British Civil Service who acts as Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The holder of this office is traditionally the head of the Prime Minister's Office. In the Civil Service, the role is currently graded as a Director-General. To date, no woman has ever occupied the office. In fiction, the character of Bernard Woolley in the television series "Yes, Prime Minister", occupied this post. The current Principal Private Secretary is Peter Hill, who was
Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister for the Civil Service invariable practice of the executive as forming a basis for legitimate expectation. The case also shows that national security remains a political issue and not a legal one; it is not to be determined by a court. It summarises the scope of judicial review. In "R (Bancoult) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (No 2)", heard at the House of Lords, one of the matters decided was whether or not the courts could subject Orders in Council to judicial review. The Lords unanimously agreed that although Orders in Council were defined as "primary legislation" in the Human