LONDON, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labor Party has tripled what it spends on public relations to $613 million a year from $211 million, Conservatives said.
The taxpayer money funds more than 3,200 press officers, the minority politicians said, citing official government figures.
By contrast, before the Labor Party came into power in a landslide victory in 1997, slightly more than 300 press officers worked for the government, The Daily Telegraph of London reported.
"Under Labor, taxes have soared, but rather than improving our public services the money has been wasted on wages of spin," Conservative Parliament member Oliver Heald said.
The Labor Party's Central Office of Information defended the increased spending, saying the Blair administration reflects "a radical and reforming government," and that it has a duty to explain its policies, decisions and actions and to inform members of the public about their rights and liabilities.
