The wife of a British government minister has defended MPs’ right to employ their family members as their assistants, secretaries and office managers, who are paid by the taxpayers.

Eve Burt, Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt’s wife, said in a recent interview that it was practical as well as legal for husbands and wives to work for their MP spouses.

Speaking on the topic, Mrs. Burt said, “I could be doing a job for somebody else and earning a salary. Are MPs’ families not allowed to earn salaries? I think it's done so much because it is very practical."

She further argued that working for her husband in his Parliamentary office was not for topping up their family income but due to the unusual nature of the job.

Working for her husband, Mrs. Burt is earning in the range of £35,000 to £39,000 per annum.

Fresh data released by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), the expenses watchdog, revealed that a total of 155 MPs have employed someone from their families as their assistants, secretaries and office managers.