The former head of the civil service Chris Wormald received a record payout of almost £860,000 when he was forced out of the top job in Whitehall by Keir Starmer.
Cabinet Office accounts have revealed that the former cabinet secretary, who was sacked earlier this year, was paid £859,496 upon departure. The figure is an unprecedented amount, which required civil servants to seek a special direction from ministers to approve it because it was “greater than what Sir Chris Wormald would be contractually entitled to”.
Wormald has since been made a member of the House of Lords, after serving as cabinet secretary for just 14 months. He was replaced by Antonia Romeo earlier this year.
It was revealed earlier this summer that the size of the payout to Wormald was so vast that Cat Little, the permanent secretary of the Cabinet Office, had to request a ministerial direction from Starmer in February to override value-for-money concerns before she could approve it.
In her letter to the prime minister at the time, Little wrote that she needed special permission to grant such a high award, saying “in respect of value for money, I have consulted civil service HR and legal advisers and have had due regard to managing public money and the consideration of Sir Chris Wormald’s employment rights in the circumstances. The proposed award is greater than what Sir Chris Wormald would be contractually entitled to.”
Little said she had been informed a settlement of that level was “necessary given that this is a departure from a high-profile, unique role that has been agreed at very short notice”.
She said the prime minister could take into account “the public interest in bringing this matter to a conclusion and the prevention of distraction from the effective operation of government”.
The Conservatives said the payout was an “appalling waste”. The shadow Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart said: “Chris Wormald was just one of many civil servants and advisers fired by Keir Starmer as he tried to save his own skin.
“This payout is another appalling waste of taxpayers’ money by Labour. Whether it’s big payouts for fall guys, or gimmicky giveaways, this government is always happy to spend our money if it thinks it will benefit the Labour party.”
The settlement with Wormald dwarfs the previous record amount given to the former Treasury permanent secretary Tom Scholar, who was forced out by Liz Truss in one of her first acts as prime minister. He was given £457,000, including severance pay and compensation in lieu of notice and leave.
Wormald became a crossbench peer after he was nominated by Starmer as the former prime minister left office.
At the time, No 10 had been criticised over its handling of Wormald’s departure, with his allies saying he had been badly treated and learned of his fate through the media.
Dave Penman, the general secretary of the senior civil servants’ union the FDA, said the briefing against Wormald had been extraordinary and that it was “no way to run a country”.
