Sir David Varney

Following his appointment in the Budget to advise on the opportunities for transforming the delivery of public services, to report to the Chancellor by the Comprehensive Spending Review as announced on Thursday 13 July, Sir David Varney has decided to stand down as Chairman of HM Revenue & Customs. Sir David will now work full time in his capacity as the Chancellor’s senior adviser on Transformational Government, building on his work at HMRC.

Chancellor Gordon Brown said:

“I am grateful to Sir David for his leadership of HM Revenue & Customs. He has overseen a transformation of the service that will be of huge benefit in the future and leaves the Department in good shape for the next set of challenges. I am grateful for Sir David’s willingness to apply his expertise to the reform agenda generally and to the benefit of other public services.”

Sir David Varney said:

“I am leaving the newly created HMRC with a clear plan to improve further service to our customers over the next five years and a successful new management team to deliver this plan. I am delighted to have the opportunity to contribute to the improvement of public services across government.”

Notes for editors

1. Sir David Varney, 60, has been Chairman of HM Revenue & Customs since September 2004. The Chancellor appointed Sir David as his senior adviser on the Transformational Government Strategy in the 2006 Budget.

2. Sir David will stand down as Chairman on 1 September 2006. Arrangements for the appointment of his successor will be announced in due course. Sir David will be based in HM Treasury from 1 September until he leaves the Civil Service on 31 December. During this period he will remain a member of the Permanent Secretaries Management and Steering Groups and a non Executive Director on the Board of HM Revenue & Customs. Sir David remains a non Executive Director of HM Treasury.

3. Prior to joining HM Revenue & Customs, Sir David was Chairman of MM02, the leading mobile telecommunications company, since its creation in May 2001. He was previously Chief Executive Officer of BG Group (formerly British Gas) from 1996 to 2000. Before joining BG Group, he held a variety of senior roles in Shell including the position of Managing Director of AB Svenska Shell in Sweden and Director of Shell International with responsibility for Shell's Oil Products business in Europe. He was chairman of Business in the Community from 2002 to 2004.

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