The Tories and Liberal Democrats accused Labour of breaching the spirit of the rules on government ads in the run-up to a general election by continuing highly political campaigns until the very last moment. They criticised the high-profile push on Child Trust Funds, on which £3.7 million has been spent since January, even though Tony Blair is widely expected to call a 5 May election. Most government ads will stop running when the prime minister formally announces the election next week.
Figures compiled by the Tories from Parliamentary questions show that 12 government departments expect to spend a total of £123 million in the 2004-05 financial year.
The Department of Health said it would spend £49.4 million and the Department of Work and Pensions gave a figure of £22.2 million.
But the Cabinet Office said: "We make no apology for advertising that can save lives."
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