Ministers urged to cut civil servant wage bill by moving more out of London

The increase is greater than the entire regular forces of the British Army, the group warned.

The annual salary bill has increased by 60 per cent and the median salary has risen by 26 per cent.

It comes as the Health Secretary Steve Barclay revealed that he has axed one in six of the civil servants in his department.

The TPA said that the expansion has been “top-heavy” with 87 per cent of the increase in roles accounted for by growth in the top three grades who are paid between £73,000 and £208,000.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "With the tax burden at near-record levels, taxpayers are paying through the nose for the boom in public sector employment.

“What’s more, there is a growing sense that public services are worse than before the hiring spree, not better.

“Only once politicians start to be honest about what the state can reasonably be expected to do can we wind down functions and scrap unnecessary jobs.

"Without moving pen-pushers out of the capital, bringing down the civil service salary bill will be an even more difficult task.”