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Nick Clegg has claimed nearly £113,000 in taxpayer funded allowances despite landing a top job at Facebook .

The former deputy Prime Minister is understood to earn a substantial, seven-figure salary from his role as a Vice President of the social media giant.

Yet he claimed almost all of his entitlement to cash from the 'Public Cost Duty Allowance' fund in 2018/19 - which included five months for which he held the Facebook job, which is based in California.

The fund was set up to help former Prime Ministers who are still active in public life after they leave office.

But Clegg successfully lobbied to have it extended to him, the first Deputy Prime Minister to claim the benefit.

Cabinet Office figures show he claimed £112,882 over the year, while David Cameron took £110,413, Tony Blair £115,000, Gordon Brown £114,057, and Sir John Major £114,935.

(Image: PA)

The department said it was told by Sir Nick around the time he took the Facebook job in October that it would be the final year in which he would draw from the fund.

Sir Nick, who lost his Sheffield Hallam seat in the 2017 general election, was entitled to the full amount of £115,000.

As the social network's vice president of global affairs on Thursday, he said a £4 billion fine for the firm in the US would spark a change "deep into the bowels of the company".

The 52-year-old was recruited by Mark Zuckerberg's firm as he sought to repair the company's reputation over its role in spreading misinformation during elections.