Grant Shapps was handed a four-figure “golden goodbye” after he quit as a minister at the height of the Tory bullying scandal, PoliticsHome can reveal.

Official government documents show he received a “termination payment” of nearly £8,000 - equivalent to three months' salary - after standing down as an overseas aid minister.

Former Tory co-chairman Mr Shapps quit last November amid claims he failed to act on allegations of bullying by Mark Clarke against young Tory activists.

He was the Conservative co-chairman when Mr Clarke was brought in to run the ‘Road Trip 2015’ campaign during the election.

Tory bosses set up an inquiry, carried out by lawyers Clifford Chance, following the death of party activist Elliott Johnson, who named Mr Clarke in a suicide note.

At the time of his resignation, Mr Shapps said: "Whatever the rights and wrongs of a serious case like this, responsibility should rest somewhere. Over the past few weeks – as individual allegations have come to light – I have come to the conclusion that the buck should stop with me."

A report into the scandal was published yesterday and cleared Mr Shapps of wrongdoing - although it was branded a “whitewash” by Mr Johnson's parents.

According to the annual report and accounts from the Department for International Development, Mr Shapps was handed £7,920 when he stepped down from his role.

'GOLDEN GOODBYE'

Labour MP John Mann today demanded Mr Shapps return the payment.

“It’s wholly inappropriate to be receiving money when you have quit in this way,” he told PoliticsHome.

“Nobody should get it and the practice should be stopped. He should not have accepted it and he should give it back. It’s not going to help his reputation.”

John O’Connell, director of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, told PoliticsHome: "MPs know that any job in government is not a job for life.

“So when a minister stands down of their own volition there can be no justification for awarding them a large chunk of taxpayers' cash.

“When further savings need to be found across the public sector, these golden goodbyes are ripe for being cut."

A government source told PoliticsHome the payment was in line with usual policy.

Mr Shapps could not be reached for comment.

'WHITEWASH'

The report into the bullying scandal, led by law firm Clifford Chance, said 13 individuals were identified as being alleged victims of bullying or inappropriate conduct by Mr Clarke.

Six specific claims of sexually inappropriate behaviour were included in the allegations.

The parents of Elliot Johnson, the former activist whose suicide prompted the probe organised by Tory HQ, said:

“We haven’t had a chance to read through the findings and make a complete assessment of them but we expected a whitewash and I believe that’s what we’re going to get.”

They added: “We decided not to take part in the Clifford Chance inquiry due to concerns that Tory HQ would be pulling the strings from behind the scenes.”

Mr Clarke - dubbed the Tatler Tory - has denied all allegations of wrongdoing.