According to motoring website www.AutoExpress.co.uk Government fat cats spend £7.16million a year on chauffeur-driven ministerial cars. And each one costs an average £73,000 to run – that's 15 times more than the average motorist's bill!

The shock figures come after MP Hilary Benn's recent comments defending fuel price rises as a way to encourage drivers to curb their car use. But an Auto Express investigation has revealed that his motoring bill alone was nearly £66,000 in the last financial year!

In Issue 1,022, we reported Benn, Secretary of State at the Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs, as saying: "The price of fuel is acting as an incentive for everyone to try to cut their emissions."

But our Freedom of Information request revealed Benn was allocated £65,969.87 by the Government Car and Despatch Agency in the year to April 2008. And that doesn't even include taxi journeys or out of hours trips. The average UK motorist pays £4,821 to run a car over 12 months.

Taxpayers' Alliance spokesman Mark Wallace said: "It's no surprise that Hilary Benn is happy to see the cost of motoring going through the roof, as tax payers are footing the bill. He's a hypocrite. " The AA also hit out at the costs. " The average motorist doesn't have the luxury of being chauffeur driven," said a spokesman.