THE pay bill for the Government’s special advisers has risen to more than £8m, according to official figures.

Labour said the rise - to a total of £8.4m for 103 "Spads" in 2013-14 - represented a 17% increase on the previous year.

Data published today shows Wirral West MP and employment minister Esther McVey has her own special adviser on £67,000 a year

Six advisers are being paid £100,000 or more, with the list topped by David Cameron's chief of staff Ed Llewellyn and his director of communications Craig Oliver, who each received £140,000. The Prime Minister has a total of 27 advisers.

Christopher Lockwood, the deputy head of the No 10 Policy Unit, received £134,000; the Prime Minister's press secretary Graeme Wilson got £110,000; and Kate Fall, Mr Cameron's deputy chief of staff, received £100,000.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg's director of communications, Steve Lotinga, received £105,000.

Mr Clegg now has 20 special advisers.

Wallasey MP Angela Eagle, Labour’s Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, said: “Another day, another broken promise from David Cameron and Nick Clegg.

“David Cameron promised to get the cost of politics down but under him the number of Special Advisers spirals ever upwards – the public are now picking up bill of over £8m to pay for his appointees.

“This also shows how you can’t trust a word Nick Clegg says.

“The Lib Dems used to say that special advisers shouldn’t be paid for by the public but as soon as he got his feet under the Cabinet table he broke his word.

“The cost to the public of Lib Dem special advisers is over £1.7m – Nick Clegg alone has more advisers working for him than he has female MPs.”

Answering business questions in the Commons, the Leader of the House William Hague acknowledged there were more special advisers than there were under Labour, reflecting the "nature of coalition".

However he said their average pay was lower than it had been during the previous government.