Liz Truss is the shortest-serving PM in British history, after just 44 days (Pictures: Getty/AFP)
Liz Truss is facing calls to turn down a Prime Minister’s allowance of up to £115,000 a year because she was only in office for 44 days.
The Public Duties Cost Allowance (PDCA), which was introduced after Margaret Thatcher resigned in 1991, is designed to support former PMs in their public duties after they leave office.
But Ms Truss is under pressure to stay away from the grant – as the shortest-serving Prime Minister in British history.
Lib Dem cabinet office spokeswoman Christine Jardine said: ‘Liz Truss will forever be known as the 50-day prime minister.
‘There is no way that she should be permitted to access the same £115,000-a-year for life fund as her recent predecessors – all of whom served for well over two years.
‘To make matters worse, Truss’s legacy is an economic disaster – for which the Conservatives are making taxpayers foot the bill.
‘For Truss to walk off into the sunset with a potential six figure dividend, while leaving the British public to suffer, would be unconscionable.
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‘This huge potential pay-out will leave a bitter taste in the mouth of the millions of people struggling with spiralling bills and eye-watering mortgage rate rises thanks to the Conservatives’ economic mismanagement.’
Several Labour MPs have made similar comments about Ms Truss’s access to the money while ‘one in seven people in the UK are skipping meals to pay their bills’.
Mr Johnson is eligible to claim money from the PDCA but it is not yet known whether he has done so, as the Cabinet Office accounts have not been filed this year.
Theresa May, who recieves a salary as an MP, has taken £57,832.
John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron have all claimed close to the maximum amount.
The PDCA is estimated to cost the taxpayer up to £700,000 per year, including pension contributions.
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The Public Duties Cost Allowance is designed to support former prime ministers in their public duties.