MoD's press and PR fund hits £50m, MP reveals

The figures were revealed by Labour’s shadow foreign secretary Diana Johnson.

It comes after Tory-led cutbacks axed tens of thousands of troops, scrapped warships and grounded jets.

‘Given that we can now fit the entire professional British Army into Wembley Stadium after cuts made since 2010, it’s utterly wrong that a similar sacrifice hasn’t been made at the Ministry of Defence as our armed forces have been asked to make,’ Ms Johnson said.

An MoD spokeswoman said it was ‘important’ taxpayers know how their cash is spent and that meant ‘communicating the work’ the armed forces do ‘to keep Britain safe’.

She added MoD civilian communications jobs had been cut by more than a quarter since 2010 and that communications spending amounted to ‘less than 0.25 per cent of the defence budget’.

More than a third of the 183 staff are serving military, undertaking PR roles as part of their duties.