Tories say 1,800 press officers are employed at Westminster

They say there are now more than 3,200 being paid from the public purse - a three-fold rise since Labour came to power in 1997.

Figures obtained by the Tories show the Ministry of Defence has the most press officers - 229.

Labour said the Tories were "not comparing with like" and the actual figure was less than that.

Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden said: "Those 1,800 which are in the book which Oliver Letwin quoted from... are not just press officers.

"They're doing a whole range of jobs to do with public information - things like road safety campaigns, crime prevention campaigns.

"These are functions which have always existed in government."

'Small fraction'

However, he did concede the number of press officers had increased in the last 10 years.

The government has a duty to communicate with the public Cabinet Office

He refused to put a figure on the number he said were actually employed by the government, but told BBC Radio 4's The World at One it was a "small fraction" of the number quoted by the Conservatives.

In total, the government spends £322m on public relations and advertising annually.

There has been a significant increase in 24-hour news coverage since Labour came to power in 1997 - when it spent £111m on public relations.

The figures, relating to press officers in Whitehall or in quangos, come from an internal government handbook which is not usually available to the public.

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has three press officers, in spite of the fact his department was abolished earlier this year.

An MoD spokesman sought to clarify his department's figure by saying it has only 28 press officers working within the department itself, with the rest working in the armed services.

'Quangocrats'

In Whitehall departments there are 1,815 press officers and public relations staff, while a further 1,444 work for 200 quangos and agencies funded by taxpayers.

Shadow Cabinet Office secretary Oliver Heald said: "Under Labour, taxes have soared but, rather than improving our public services, the money has been wasted on wages of spin.

"Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and their army of quangocrats have bankrolled a bloated army of spin doctors, politicising the Civil Service and creating a corrosive culture of spin in Whitehall."

The figures do not include the 77 politically appointed special advisers working for Tony Blair and cabinet ministers.

A Cabinet Office spokeswoman said: "The government has a duty to communicate with the public."

She said this included the need to "respond to new technology and other means of communication, including web, e-mailing and text messaging".