Nadine Dorries to Repay Nearly £17,000 Wrongly Received as Severance Pay

Nadine Dorries will return £16,876 of severance pay received in error following her resignation as a cabinet minister.

Being over 65, she was ineligible for the payment, a rule in place to prevent ministers of that age from receiving such sums. Dorries, who was culture secretary under Boris Johnson, acknowledged the mistake after a recent email notification and committed to repaying the money promptly.

Dorries served as the MP for Mid Bedfordshire from 2005 until 2023 and is known for her close relationship with Johnson and her success as an author.

The Labour Party has proposed reforms to cut the cost of ministerial severance by more than 40%, changing the system to base payments on a quarter of a minister's earnings in the last year rather than their final annual salary.

This move comes in light of over £930,000 in severance costs last year due to frequent cabinet changes. Current policy allows ministers under 65 to claim redundancy pay after three weeks out of office, regardless of their tenure or departure circumstances.

Recently, the Cabinet Office clarified that severance payments are not applicable to ministers over 65, and any mistakenly issued funds will be reclaimed.