Energy secretary Edward Davey has dismissed as “tittle-tattle” claims a senior civil servant quit his Government department with a £470,000 pay out because of in-house fighting.

The Kingston and Surbiton MP said Moira Wallace, former permanent secretary for the department for energy and climate change (DECC), left her six-figure salary job entirely of her own accord.

Last week it was revealed Miss Wallace had received two payments of £262,000 and almost £210,000 when she left in October 2012.

The news has led to criticism of Mr Davey, with shadow energy minister Tom Greatrex demanding he explain the full circumstances of the pay-off.

When Miss Wallace’s decision to quit was made public last July, several media outlets reported rumours of clashes between her and Mr Davey, over a number of policy u-turns and disagreements with the treasury.

But speaking to the Surrey Comet last night, Mr Davey said: “She [Miss Wallace] was the permanent secretary of the department when I arrived.

“She had been there five years and decided she wanted to go.

“She left in accordance with the voluntary exit scheme and the civil service compensation scheme.

“Moira had been a very high grade and very talented civil servant for 27 years and she would have been in the scheme when she joined.

“I had nothing to do with the agreement reached. The package offered was agreed by the cabinet office and the treasury. I was informed of it, but I was not party to the proposals.

“I asked if this was in line with the civil service compensation scheme and her contract and the answer was ‘yes’.”

Asked whether he thought the pay-out was excessive, Mr Davey said: “I think people will understand you can’t unpick contracts but what you can do is reform them going forward.”

Responding to the claims she left after falling out with him, Mr Davey said: “It’s all tittle tattle.

“Four years service is generally considered a normal time for a permanent secretary, and she was actually good enough to stay on longer than she needed to [until October].

“It doesn’t sound to me like she was pushed.”

Kingston Council faced criticism last year when it was revealed children’s services department head Duncan Clark had been given a £128k payment to leave, days after an Ofsted inspection damned his department as inadequate for safeguarding.