It’s hard to find any words that can do Steve justice. His commitment, leadership and ability to make change happen were extraordinary, as was his ability to build deep and trusted relationships with ministers, of all backgrounds and political parties, and our external stakeholders. In over 25 years in the civil service I have not worked with anybody else, at any level, who built rapport with ministers so quickly and effectively or was as well respected in their area. He was a brilliant ambassador for DfT and for the local roads and light rail sectors. When Steve decided to do something, especially in a response to a crisis, he threw his all into it – often heading out to the place affected and supporting the teams on the ground. I first worked closely with him around 10 years ago and soon saw him responding to the significant flooding in the South West, especially Somerset. On the few occasions I joined him for the response meetings it was obvious he was one of the most influential and most trusted voices in the room – listened to far more than many more senior people thanks to his straight talking, honest and helpful advice. Steve leaves a huge legacy in both the local roads and light rail worlds, with millions of people having better travel experiences thanks to his hard work, ideas and efforts. But perhaps more importantly he was also a great colleague: never too busy to talk, help someone out or take something on and always great company at the pub or on a work trip. It is a real privilege to have known and to have worked with Steve. The Department will be a much poorer place without him and I will miss him massively. My thoughts are with his family and friends. Stephen Fidler (Director – Local Transport, DfT)