- Ex-deputy chief whip Chris Pincher is in line for a pay-out worth £7,920 after resigning Thursday.
- Former ministers receive an automatic severance payment, regardless of the reasons for their departure.
- But Liberal Democrat chief whip Wendy Chamberlain says Pincher should not take the payment.
Chris Pincher could receive severance pay of nearly £8,000 after resigning from Boris Johnson's government amid claims he drunkenly groped two men.
As deputy chief whip, Pincher received a ministerial salary of £31,680, latest figures show.
Ministers under the age of 65 who leave the government and are not reappointed to a post within three weeks are entitled to receive one quarter of their annual salary as severance pay, meaning Pincher could take £7,920.
One Conservative MP said it was automatic, but noted he could decline the pay-out.
Liberal Democrat chief whip Wendy Chamberlain told Insider : "Given the seriousness of the allegations facing Chris Pincher and the nature of his resignation, I would very much expect him to forgo his severance pay."
Whether or not Pincher does take the pay may not come out in official records until the annual report from the Cabinet Office covering April 2022 to March 2023, not expected until July 2023.
The Prime Minister's deputy spokesperson told reporters he had not asked Johnson about severance pay, but that "the PM thinks it is right he resigned."
The spokesperson said Johnson was not aware of "specific allegations" against Pincher when he was appointed deputy chief whip in February, despite Pincher resigning in 2017 over similar claims. He did, however, refer to "unsubstantiated allegations" at the time Pincher was appointed.
The spokesperson declined to provide details into communications between Johnson and Pincher concerning his resignation.
Conservative MPs have told Insider that Pincher should have the Tory whip withdrawn and that he should stand down as an MP.
Pincher's office did not respond to Insider's request for comment.