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Sir Mark Sedwill is stepping down as Cabinet Secretary and head of the Civil Service amid reports of frequent clashes with Mr Cummings. But our exclusive online poll found the vast majority
of readers thought the Prime Minister's controversial political adviser was right to sideline Sir Mark. A staggering 92 percent (6,282 people) said Mr Cummings was right to force Sir
Mark out of office while just 7 percent (494 people) disagreed. One percent (86 people) answered don't know. A total of 6,862 people took part in the poll which ran from 3pm yesterday
until 8am today. One Express.co.uk reader commented: "A good start but many more heads to roll we hope." Another said: "Sedwill and his League of Quislings first... then the
major prize, the long awaited House of Lords dinosaur extinction. Can't wait for that one!" Another reader said: "Yes. He has obviously been working for the EU and against his
British employers' wishes for at least four years!" READ MORE: BORIS JOHNSON WARNED OF 'BLAME GAME' WITH CIVIL SERVICE AFTER SEDWILL And another Express.co.uk reader
said: "A government can't function properly unless its support structure is fair and square behind it. "Boris is only realigning his support network. "It's a pity
the devolved parliaments have been created and the mayoral posts, because they all pull in different directions." Mr Johnson has sought to play down claims Sir Mark's position had
been undermined by a series of hostile press briefings. Mr Cummings was reported to have been unimpressed by the response of the Cabinet Office to the coronavirus outbreak, telling aides a
"hard rain is coming" for the Civil Service. Mr Johnson said: "I try not to read too much of the negative briefing. "There is an awful lot of stuff that comes out in the
papers to which I wouldn't automatically attach the utmost credence." Amid continuing turnover in senior Whitehall positions, Sir Richard Heaton, the permanent secretary at the
Ministry of Justice, has confirmed that his five-year term is due to expire in August. The Foreign Office's most senior civil servant Sir Simon McDonald - seen as a Brexit critic - was
told this month he had to step down before the department was merged with the Department for International Development (DfID). Meanwhile, Sir Philip Rutnam, who was the Home Office's
permanent secretary, quit earlier this year after accusing Home Secretary Priti Patel of a "vicious and orchestrated briefing campaign" against him.