Margaret was a valued mentor to me throughout the three and a half years I spent in her team at DfT.

She was perhaps the most driven person I have ever had the pleasure to work with and although her standards seemed almost unreachable at times it was always clear these were rooted in unrivalled dedication to deliver the best public service possible. To get Margaret’s stamp of approval on a piece of work was always something to be extremely proud of, and worth the extra effort, a reflection of how esteemed her input was by all. Since moving on from DfT I very frequently find myself asking “what would Margaret think?” to everything I do, a practice that I’m sure will be with me for the rest of my career.

Those who worked in Margaret’s team always knew she had their back and despite having more to do than hours in the day, she made time for everyone. Your contribution always felt noticed in Margaret’s team – you’d never go home before Christmas empty handed, there’d be chocolates, Panettone or even a wooden train to hang on your Christmas tree as her generous way of saying thank you. Even working throughout recent lockdowns she found ways to keep this up and sent surprise posh chocolates through the post at a time when I was particularly hard at work.

I will miss Margarets quick wit and mischevious sense of humour most as well as the in-jokes she had with the team – I’ll think about Margaret every time I see Paul Maynard’s name or a man with a baby!