Starmer approved record £860,000 pay-off for sacked civil service chief

Keir Starmer approved a record payout of £859,496 for Chris Wormald, the former head of the civil service, following his dismissal from the top Whitehall role. Cabinet Office accounts reveal that this unprecedented settlement far exceeded standard contractual entitlements. Due to the size of the payment, civil servants were required to obtain a special direction from ministers to authorise the amount, marking it as a significant departure from typical civil service exit packages.