Government severance payments: Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Chris Pincher all get payouts after quitting

Boris Johnson and Liz Truss received £18,660 each in severance payments after they stood down as Prime Minister, annual government accounts have shown.

Both leaders resigned after losing the support and confidence of their fellow MPs. Johnson faced mounting criticism over his handling of the Chris Pincher scandal and Partygate, while Truss was confronted with something of an in-party rebellion in her last days - which followed on from a chaotic few weeks of major policy U-turns, sackings and resignations, and the infamous mini-budget which plunged the financial markets into chaos.

Despite the nature of their departures - and the fact that Truss was only in office for 45 days (Johnson, in comparison served for nearly three years) - they were still entitled to the pay-out.

Other ministers on the just-released accounts list include former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng - Truss’ companion for the disastrous mini-budget - who was given £16,876 when he quit after less than six weeks in the job. Some of the decisions he made whilst serving as a minister have also cost the government - namely, choosing to fire the Treasury’s top civil servant Sir Tom Scholar, who received £457,000 in severance and other payments.

One of the more controversial names on the list is that of Chris Pincher, the deputy chief whip who resigned in disgrace last summer after allegations of groping. He received £7,920 after stepping down from the role.

Ministers are entitled to a “loss of office” payment when they resign or are fired, if they are under 65 and are not appointed to a new role within three weeks. However, it is up to them whether they take the money or not - and they can choose to pay it back if they return to government after the three-week period.

Rishi Sunak for instance received £16,876 after resigning as Chancellor in July 2022, but later paid it back to the government after becoming Prime Minister. When asked about the payments, his spokesperson said: “Obviously, there are laws that need to be followed at all times when coming up with agreements on severance pay.”

Unlike Sunak, the accounts reveal that there were other ministers who chose to keep their payments despite swiftly returning to government. Grant Shapps received £16,876 after leaving his role as Transport Secretary in September 2022 , even though he briefly returned as Home Secretary under Truss six weeks later.

Similarly, Simon Hart, who quit as Welsh Secretary ahead of Johnson’s resignation last July, also received £16,876 - before later being appointed as Sunak’s Chief Whip in October 2022. Wendy Morton, who served as Truss’ Chief Whip for just six weeks, received £7,920.

There are still more departments to report on their payouts, but of the ones published so far, a total of £455,392 was paid out to former ministers last year.

Responding to the release of the accounts, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor Angela Rayner said:“After the mess the Tories have left our country in, they should be hanging their heads in embarrassment, not walking away with an enormous payoff.

“At a time when people up and down the country are struggling to pay their mortgages and put food on the table, it shows a staggering lack of shame for them to accept this money, but is exactly what we’ve come to expect from a bunch of Tories who only care about themselves.”

The Liberal Democrats echoed these thoughts, with deputy leader Daisy Cooper commenting: “This is a slap in the face for all those who have seen their mortgages soar because of Truss and Kwarteng’s disastrous mini-budget.

“It is frankly insulting that whilst people struggle with the cost-of-living crisis, those responsible for their financial hardship are being showered with tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ cash. If any of these disgraced former Conservative Party ministers had a shred of integrity left, they would hand these payouts back.”

The severance payouts are not the only payments those who served in government are entitled to receive. Under the Public Duties Cost Allowance (PDCA), former Prime Ministers are able to claim back money towards “the cost of maintaining their activities in public life”. NationalWorld previously reported that this means Liz Truss will be entitled to claim up to £115,000 per year from the taxpayer for the rest of her life, despite being one of the shortest-serving Prime Ministers in history.

There is also huge earning potential for former (and current) ministers and MPs through second jobs. In January, it was revealed that Boris Johnson had raked in £2.3 million in the six months since he had left his role as Prime Minister - money he earnt in addition to his former MP salary of £84,000.

Politicians receive extra earnings for things such as second jobs, speeches, television appearances, and books. Johnson made £1.8 million in speaking fees, and £510,000 from his upcoming memoirs.

Other high earners included former Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who declared £442,697 in a year in outside earnings. Included in this was £320,000 which he received for his controversial appearance on ‘I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!’, when he spent three weeks in the jungle in Australia while Parliament was sitting. This means he continued to receive his parliamentary salary.