Penny Mordaunt says we should applaud Tory who left taxpayers with £15,000 bill
A Tory Minister has claimed taxpayers' should foot Michelle Donelan's £15,000 legal bill in a defamation case as she refused a redundancy payment for serving as Education Secretary for two days.
Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt defended the Science and Tech Secretary's "character", saying the fact she handed back a severance payment in 2022 for her stint in the dying days of Boris Johnson's government shows "how much she values" taxpayers' money. Ms Donelan is facing calls to pay her own legal fees after she falsely accused academic Professor Kate Sang of supporting Hamas. Taxpayers have been left to foot the £15,000 bill.
Downing Street said the Prime Minister retains confidence in her and insisted there is a "long-standing principle that ministers get legal support and representation where matters relate to their conduct and responsibilities as a minister".
Responding to Labour's questions on the row in the Commons, Ms Mordaunt said: "I would remind this House that when (Ms Donelan) was entitled to redundancy payments from being a Secretary of State, which was £16,000, she did not take that and handed it back to the department, because it was the right thing to do. I would just remind people of that and I think that speaks volumes about her character and how much she values the fact that it is taxpayers' money that we are talking about."
In July 2022, Ms Donelan quit her role as Education Secretary after less than two days amid a flurry of high-profile resignations, making her tenure the shortest of any Cabinet member in modern British history. She was entitled to nearly £17,000 in redundancy pay at the time, but refused it.
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Keir Starmer said taxpayers footing the bill for damages was "totally insulting". Speaking during a visit to a construction site in the City of London on Thursday, the Labour leader said "I think most people watching this will be aghast.
"The Government is telling them every day that they can't do any more to help them. People are really struggling to pay their bills, and the Government says: 'We can't afford to help you anymore.' People know that public services are crumbling. And then you've got a minister who says something she shouldn't have said, then has to pick up a legal action and pay damages and costs, and then says: 'The taxpayer is going to pay for that'."
Rishi Sunak said he had been "focused on the Budget " when asked why Ms Donelan had not been sacked. He told broadcasters: "Obviously you will understand I've been focused on the Budget, but my understanding of this is that Michelle raised some concerns about some articles that had been shared talking about what happened on October 7.
"I think subsequently to that, those thoughts I think have been clarified and Michelle has withdrawn those concerns. With regard to the settlement, it is a long-standing convention stretching back many years, over different governments of all different parties, including Labour, that the Government will fund those legal disputes when it relates to Government ministers doing their work."
In October last year, Ms Donelan shared a letter on Twitter suggesting Prof Sang had expressed sympathy for Hamas after its attack on Israel. Ms Donelan has since apologised and withdrawn her comments.
No10 declined to say whether Ms Donelan followed Government advice in tweeting the letter. Shadow Commons leader Lucy Powell called for confirmation on whether the Cabinet minister had followed "appropriate advice" that was given to her, or had gone against it. "Because if so, then surely she should personally pay the costs," she said.
The Labour frontbencher demanded Ms Donelan make a statement to MPs on what happened, adding: "If the money was paid by taxpayers because it related to her ministerial responsibilities, then she must come to Parliament as a minister and account for that."
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