Sir Hayden Phillips, the British civil servant who served as Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor’s Office from 1998 to 2003, died on April 10, 2026, aged 83.
Sir Gerald Hayden Phillips was born on February 9, 1943. He was educated at Cambridgeshire High School for Boys, Clare College, Cambridge, and Yale University.
He joined the Civil Service as an Assistant Principal in the Home Office in 1967 and went on to hold posts including Economic Adviser from 1970 to 1972, Principal from 1972 to 1974, and Assistant Secretary and Principal Private Secretary to the Home Secretary, Roy Jenkins, from 1974 to 1976. From 1977 to 1979, he served as Deputy Chef de Cabinet to Roy Jenkins as President of the European Commission, and later returned to the Home Office as Assistant Secretary from 1979 to 1981.
Sir Hayden Phillips, 83, British civil servant, Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor’s Office (1998–2003).