Treasury QC gets £3m in fees - and we foot the bill

The Government has paid a leading barrister more than £500,000 a year in fees for his advice, it was revealed today.

Sir Philip Sales QC has charged the taxpayer £3.3million over the past six years as First Treasury Counsel - a full- time position he has held since 1997.

As well as his fees, the Attorney General's Office has paid him a £15,000- a-year retainer so he does not work for anyone else.

The top 10 government barristers who make up the Attorney General's panel of civil counsel have cost the taxpayer more than £2million in fees annually for the past three years.

Fees for this period were released in a parliamentary answer, and the Evening Standard obtained figures for the previous three years from the Attorney General's Office.

Today there were calls for an urgent reform to the system, which allows QCs to charge the Government private practice rates.

Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable said legal advisers should have salaries. "Although being salaried will not offer maximum earnings, the job does give security of tenure, and it does offer the prestige of working at the heart of government," he said.

Adrian Sanders, the Lib-Dem MP for Torbay who submitted the parliamentary question, said: "I understand the Government has to get the best lawyers, and they don't come cheap, but somewhere the line has to be drawn."

Sir Philip, 47, who is also known as the "Treasury Devil", is effectively the Government's chief advocate, advising all departments. He was appointed to the job aged only 35 and has been involved in high-profile cases including defending in the High Court the Government's decision not to hold a public inquiry into the Iraq war in 2005.

The figures show Sir Philip charged:

£446,974 in the last financial year
£551,163 the year before that
£530,986 in 2006/07
£586,329 in 2005/06
£619,634 in 2004/05
£607,123 in 2003/04

The Attorney General's Office defended the fees, saying they were competitive at £60 to £120 an hour.

A spokesman said: "These barristers deal with some of the most complex and specialised cases in the country. Competition to join the panels is very fierce and those who succeed demonstrate particular ability in their work."

Government's top earning lawyers

Philip Sales £446,974
David Evans £286,340
Jonathan Swift £242,764
Jeremy Johnson £235,182
Alan Payne £186,555
Jonathan Glasson £180,300
Nicholas Moss £175,620
Philip Coppel £175,129
Leigh-Ann Mulcahy £172,001
Lisa Giovannetti £164,962