MORE than £6 million was spent on stationery by the Ministry of Defence in one year, new figures showed.

The SNP said the expenditure was excessive at a time when defence spending in Scotland was being cutback.

A total of £6.1 million was spent on stationery by the MoD in 2016-17, according to figures released under freedom of information laws.

SNP MSP Christine Grahame said: “It is perverse that the Ministry of Defence can justify cutting 20 per cent of the defence footprint in Scotland, whilst frittering away literally millions in taxpayers’ cash on stationery."

Grahame, the MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, added: “The MoD should consider cutting down on pens and papers clips before going through with the closure of eight military sites in Scotland, including Glencorse Barracks in my constituency which will affect hundreds of jobs, the local economy and the country’s defence capabilities.”

However, the MoD said the £6.1m was spent on "essential" work.

An MoD spokesman said: “We employ around 245,000 people, from civil servants across the UK to troops on the frontline, and this works out at around just £25 a year for each of them.

"It is spent on key requirements like material for writing, typing and printing.”