Yesterday was ‘take out the trash day’ – or the last parliamentary sitting day before recess – meaning the government had the perfect opportunity to bury bad news. Amongst the buried releases was a delay to the government’s trans guidance, severance pay stats for Tom Scholar (£355,000), Chris Pincher (£7,920), Kwasi Kwarteng (£16,867) and Boris Johnson and Liz Truss (both £18,660) and of course… SpAd salaries. Included in the Annual Report on Special Advisers was the revelation that severance to Liz and Boris’s SpAds set the taxpayer back by £3,000,000. The government is currently spending £9,000,000 per year on Special Adviser salaries.

Rishi’s highest earning SpAds are:

• Liam Booth-Smith: £140,000-144,999
• Amber de Botton: £140,000-144,999
• Eleanor Shawcross: £140,000-144,999
• Will Tanner: £125,000-£129,999
• Rupert Yorke: £125,000-£129,999
• Nerissa Chesterfield: £110,000-£114,999
• Aidan Corley: £110,000-£114,999
• Cass Horowitz: £110,000-£114,999

Nice work, if you can get it…

Co-conspirators can read the full report below: