Boris Johnson's Cabinet reshuffle looks set to cost more than £100,000 in golden goodbyes - with Esther McVey in line to trouser £25,000 of payoffs in barely a year.
The Prime Minister wielded the axe to eight ministers, including several round the Cabinet table, this morning as he reshaped his top team.
But those who leave are entitled to claim a quarter of their annual ministerial salary as an exit payment - no matter how long they've been in office - as long as they don't get another ministerial job in three weeks.
That means a big benefit will go to former Tory welfare slasher Esther McVey. She looks set to get more than £25,000 in severance payouts after leaving the Cabinet twice in quick succession.
The MP in November 2018, despite spending only 10 months in the job.
Now the exiting Minister of State is eligible to a further £7,920 for being sacked as Housing Minister after seven months in the job - making a total of £24,796.
It is not yet known whether she’ll claim the second pot of cash. But all departing ministers are eligible to it.
With three Secretaries of State, the Attorney General and four other ministers of varying grades out, today’s reshuffle is set to cost a shade over £100,000 in severance pay, the Mirror calculates.
Attorney General Geoffrey Cox could be the best-remunerated - as his ministerial salary is £94,450 he’s entitled to £23,612.
The reshuffle is however less expensive than Boris Johnson's brutal clearout of ministers last summer, which was set to cost £250,000 in severance payments.
Dogged by questions over who funded his £15k Caribbean holiday, the Prime Minister booted out a string of ministers, many of them women in his first reshuffle since the election.
Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith got the chop weeks after he restored power-sharing in Stormont.
Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers also lost her job just weeks after clinging onto her seat at the election.
Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom, Attorney General Geoffrey Cox and Housing Minister Esther McVey all also lost their jobs -
Full list of possible severance payments
- Julian Smith, Northern Ireland Secretary: £16,876
- Andrea Leadsom, Business Secretary: £16,876
- Theresa Villiers, Environment Secretary: £16,876
- Geoffrey Cox, Attorney General: £23,612
- Esther McVey, Housing Minister: £7,920
- Chris Skidmore, Universities Minister: £7,920
- Nus Ghani, Transport Minister: £5,594
- George Freeman, Transport Minister: £7,920
TOTAL: £103,594
