Simon Case, the head of the civil service, has returned to work after more than two months on sick leave.

The cabinet secretary, who has not publicly disclosed his illness, has been attending meetings in the last few days, the Politics At Jack And Sam’s Podcast has revealed.

Mr Case was originally due to be off for four weeks from 23 October but this period was extended through the rest of the autumn.

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He was unable to attend as a witness before the COVID inquiry, although Heather Hallett, the COVID inquiry chair, said he will still be asked to give evidence to the inquiry at a later date.

She allowed him to skip his scheduled questioning after reviewing his medical records.

Mr Case was also absent during a reshuffle and the constitutional and political turmoil of the Rwanda Bill, while the civil service received criticism for factually inaccurate social media posts over the legal immigration change.

Some senior figures in government had been unsure whether he would ever return to the critical role.

However, he attended a gathering of permanent secretaries at an away day before Christmas and has been seen in meetings in the last few days.

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At this point, he indicated that while still recovering, he expected to return at some point.

Civil servants have not been informed more widely that Mr Case is back at work, however, and there is some anger about being kept in the dark.

The job had been split between four different permanent secretaries in his absence.