Labour costing taxpayers £1.5million in payouts to departing top civil servants as party accused of 'paying people large sums to go away'

Fintan Starkey
Tue, 21 Apr 2026 17:36:18 +0000

Sir Keir Starmer's administration has spent in excess of £1.5million of public money on exit packages for top Whitehall officials in under two years, according to a new report.

Close to half of the permanent secretaries who held positions when Labour won the 2024 election have since departed Government service, amid ongoing difficulties for ministers seeking to establish control over the civil service machinery.

In approximately seven of every ten cases, departing officials walked away with compensation packages averaging roughly £250,000 each.

A senior figure within Whitehall accused ministers of "paying people large sums of money to go away" and to "take the blame" for their own failings, suggesting the payouts serve to deflect from governmental shortcomings.

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Lord Simon Case, who served as Cabinet secretary when Sir Keir entered Downing Street, departed with a payment of £201,402 after agreeing to step down on health grounds, a sum below what he could have claimed under standard entitlements.

Sir Chris Wormald, who replaced Lord Case, remained in the role for merely 14 months before the Prime Minister dismissed him in February, reportedly receiving approximately £260,000.

Sir Philip Barton, the former Foreign Office permanent secretary who preceded Sir Olly Robbins, collected £262,185 upon his departure last year despite serving fewer than five years.

Additional senior figures who left prematurely include Dame Tamara Finkelstein from the Environment Department, Sir Peter Schofield from Work and Pensions, and David Williams from Defence.

Mr Williams departed following a significant data breach that endangered thousands of Afghans who had assisted British forces, although he had also reportedly clashed with Defence Secretary John Healey over multiple matters.

Civil service regulations stipulate officials who are not removed through formal disciplinary action qualify for compensation aligned with voluntary redundancy terms.

The formula grants one month's salary for each year of service, with a ceiling of 21 months' pay.

Given most permanent secretaries command salaries ranging from £152,000 to £200,000 and typically possess lengthy careers, they generally qualify for maximum payouts exceeding a quarter of a million pounds.

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The £1.5 million figure calculated by The Times excludes Sir Olly Robbins, who maintains he was wrongfully dismissed and has engaged a senior employment barrister to pursue a settlement.

Should his claim succeed, the eventual payout could prove substantially larger.

Sir Olly mounted pressure on the PM earlier today when he argued Sir Keir was already aware of Lord Mandelson’s various red flags as this would have been highlighted in the due diligence process, before appointing him as US Ambassador.

The Prime Minister is facing calls to resign for his handling of Lord Mandelson's appointment.

Sir Philip Rutnam previously secured £340,000 after alleging constructive dismissal following his whistleblowing about former Home Secretary Priti Patel.

John O'Connell, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, insisted there could be "no justification for permanent secretaries and top mandarins enjoying payout packets that most people could only dream of".

He called for the reinstatement of a £95,000 ceiling on exit payments "to bring an end to taxpayer-funded golden goodbyes for Whitehall fat cats".

Conservative Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Alex Burghart, accused the Government of "pouring money down the drain."

He stated: "The Prime Minister is once again wasting hard-working taxpayers' money to distract from the mess of his own making."

Alex Thomas, Executive Director at the Institute for Government, observed that the administration had "too often stumbled into people leaving, with more senior civil servants going through 'misadventure' than anyone should want or expect".