He wrote, simply: “Deeply saddened to see this announcement”.
It was the first of hundreds of messages from councils, leaders, mayors and chief executives that expressed sadness at the Duke of Edinburgh’s passing, and gratitude for his many years of public service.
Leading figures from other royal boroughs marked the news. Dan Thorpe (Lab), leader of Greenwich RBC, paid tribute to help the duke had given after a devastating fire, tweeting: “Prince Philip was deeply connected to our borough & we give thanks for all he helped to achieve, particularly the restoration of The Cutty Sark. #greenwich”.
And Ian Thomas, the chief executive of Kingston upon Thames RBC, marked the duke’s death by retweeting the royal family’s announcement, adding “RIP”.
Cambridge City Council has appointed a former Treasury civil servant who also has held leadership positions at the Department of Communities & Local Government and the United Nations as its next chief executive.
Robert Pollock’s appointment was approved by councillors at a meeting of the full council last night. He will take over from Andrew Grant who has held the position on an interim basis since October.
Mr Pollock is currently a director at Social Finance, a social enterprise that partners with governments, charities and the financial community to develop innovative solutions to entrenched social and economic issues.
He has previously held senior roles at the Treasury where he was director of the public service transformation network which spanned Whitehall departments including DCLG, the forerunner to the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government.