Record £860k golden goodbye paid to civil servant sacked by Starmer after just 14 months in job

A TOP civil servant sacked by Sir Keir Starmer received a record £860,000 “golden goodbye”. The ex-PM dismissed Sir Chris Wormald after serving just 14 months as the country’s most senior mandarin. Sir Chris Wormald received a record £860,000 golden goodbye after being sacked by Sir Keir Starmer after just 14 months as the UK’s top civil servant Credit: Alamy Sir Keir Starmer gave the green light to proceed with the payment Credit: PA He left his Whitehall job back in February as Sir Keir attempted to regain control of his government. The final figure was made up of £332,897 with a further £526,598 on top to reflect the high-profile hasty exit. Sign up for the Politics newsletter Thank you! Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said at the time that Wormald had been made a scapegoat and had been “thrown under the bus”. The financial settlement had to be signed off by the Cabinet Office’s permanent secretary Cat Little. She needed “ministerial direction” for the cash on the grounds of value for money and propriety. Little told Sir Keir that the amount is higher than he is contractually entitled to but the departure was from a high-profile role at short notice. Sir Keir Starmer then gave the green light to proceed with the payment. John O’Connell, chief executive at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Taxpayers will be incandescent that a departing mandarin walked away with an £859,496 golden goodbye. Most read in The Sun “When even the government’s own watchdog is questioning the scale and inconsistency of these payouts, ministers cannot simply shrug and sign the cheque. “The Cabinet Office must end this gravy train and bring back the public sector exit payment cap.” The Cabinet Office said: “We do not comment on HR matters. “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.” Comment now