Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to approve a £860,000 pay-off for a sacked civil servant has been described as “an appalling waste of taxpayers’ money”.
Sir Chris Wormald, Britain’s former top civil servant, received the huge sum after being sacked after only 14 months in the top role as cabinet secretary.
He became the shortest-serving holder in the position’s 110-year history.
Sir Keir dismissed the civil servant in what was described as a last-ditch attempt to save his premiership amid intense political pressure and instability surrounding the Peter Mandelson appointment controversy.
Alex Burghart, Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, dubbed the payout “appalling”.
He 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.”
Senior Whitehall figures have privately accused the former Prime Minister of scapegoating Sir Chris amid the fallout from the Peter Mandelson scandal.
The former Prime Minister is believed to have blamed him for vetting failures relating to Lord Mandelson – despite him taking up the Cabinet Secretary role just four days before that appointment was announced.
Sir Keir was also allegedly unhappy with his handling of the civil service in driving forward the Government’s agenda.
At the time, Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch accused the Prime Minister of sacrificing him to shield himself, describing Sir Chris as “the latest person Keir Starmer has thrown under the bus to save his own skin”.
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Sir Chris was originally expected to receive the standard maximum pay-off of £260,000.
However, the Cabinet Office’s annual accounts released today show this has now been increased to £859,496.
This payment is split into £332,897, which he was owed contractually, and £526,598, an additional payment to reflect the “special circumstances” of his departure.
The ousted top civil servant will also enter the House of Lords, having been nominated for a peerage in July.
The sum breaks the previous record civil service pay-off of £457,000, split into a £335,000 severance payment and £122,000 for “annual leave adjustments and compensation in lieu of notice”.
This was paid to Sir Tom Scholar, whom former Prime Minister Liz Truss sacked as Treasury permanent secretary.
The Cabinet Office said it does not comment on HR matters.
A spokesman added: “The permanent secretary at the Cabinet Office received a ministerial direction from the then prime minister to proceed with the payment to the former cabinet secretary.”
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