LONDON — The payoff to the head of Britain’s civil service after he was forced out by Keir Starmer is likely to be even higher than previously reported, two people familiar with the system have told POLITICO.

The prime minister agreed the departure of Cabinet Secretary Chris Wormald last week after 14 months in the job, triggering one of the largest ever taxpayer-funded severance payments to a senior U.K. government official.

The size of the payment, while never confirmed by the government, was widely reported to be around £260,000. This estimate was calculated based on a “standard tariff” in the civil service compensation scheme, which offers £262,185 to top-ranking officials whose careers spanned more than 21 years.

However, government disclosures state that Wormald’s payout was “greater than what [he] would be contractually entitled to.” This indicates that the total payout is higher than the previous estimate, said the two people, who were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

The disclosure was made by Cat Little, the permanent secretary at the Cabinet Office, as she requested a rare “ministerial direction” from Starmer to approve the payoff because she could not assure him it would present value for money to the taxpayer.

She wrote in her letter to Starmer: “I am informed that a settlement of this level is necessary given that this is a departure from a high profile, unique role that has been agreed at very short notice.”

The value of Wormald’s exit payment will only be published officially in the Cabinet Office’s annual accounts. These are released toward the end of the year, covering the period to Mar. 31.

If the details were not finalized before the end of March, it would leave open the possibility that the value of Wormald’s settlement could only be made public near the end of 2027.

Wormald was forced out last week as part of a wider refresh of Downing Street by Starmer, who is lagging in the polls and has faced multiple scandals in office. The civil service chief had faced months of hostile briefing within Whitehall about his way of working, with critics claiming he was too slow to shake up the system.

Even if it was around £260,000, Wormald’s payout would be one of the highest on record in Whitehall. Tom Scholar received £335,000 after he was forced out from his role as the Treasury’s top civil servant in 2022, under short-lived ex-Prime Minister Liz Truss.

A previous Cabinet secretary, Mark Sedwill, was handed a severance payment worth £248,089 after leaving Whitehall in 2020.

A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “We don’t comment on individual HR matters. Any severance payments for senior officials or ministers are included in the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts which will be published later this year.”