George Osborne: Queen's advisers have been 'unfairly' criticised

George Osborne, the Chancellor, turns on Labour's Margaret Hodge after report finds Queen's advisers are failing her

A report by the Commons public accounts committee found that the Queen’s advisers were failing to control her finances while the royal palaces were “crumbling” Photo: GETTY IMAGES

By Steven Swinford

The Queen's advisers have been "unfairly" criticised by MPs and are helping create "huge revenue and prestige" for Britain, the Chancellor has said.

George Osborne defended the household after a report by the public accounts committee found that the royal household is failing to control the Queen's finances while the royal palaces are "crumbling".

Mr Osborne singled out Margaret Hodge, the Labour chairman of the committee, for criticism after she suggested that the Queen should supplement her income by opening up Buckingham Palace for longer and renting it out for commercial events.

On Tuesday the Public Accounts Committee found that the royal household has overspent to such an extent that the Queen's reserve fund has fallen from £35million to just £1million today.

MPs suggested that the royal household should raise more money by opening up Buckingham Palace for longer and renting it out for commercial events. They also criticised the Treasury for failing to "get a grip" of her finances

Mr Osborne said: "I have to say I think the Public Accounts Committee chair [Mrs Hodge] is being unfair to the way the Royal Household has managed its finances.

"They’ve lived within a frozen budget over the last years and indeed the cost to the Royal Family for the taxpayer has come down quite sharply over the last couple of decades.

"I think they run the Royal Household well. Not only are they [the Royal Family] a very important part of our constitution, but they are a huge attraction for tourists all around the world.

“The Royal Family generate a huge revenue for this country by the tourism they bring in and the prestige they generate all around the world."

The committee disclosed that the Royal Household has made efficiency savings of just 5 per cent over the past five years compared with government departments, that are cutting their budgets by up to a third.

Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle are in urgent need of repair. In the Buckingham Palace picture gallery, staff have resorted to catching rain in buckets to protect art and antiquities, while the Queen’s boilers are more than 60-years old and contributing to energy bills of £774,000 a year.

The Treasury has previously accused Mrs Hodge of being overtly political and "grandstanding" in her role as the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee.

It has claimed that the scrutiny committee is "having an impact" on foreign investment. Mrs Hodge, who attracted headlines last year when she described Google's tax record as "evil", said the claims were "completely fallacious".

Taken From  The Telegraph