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Millionaire Tory William Hague is costing taxpayers £2,000 a day to live in a luxury home in one of London’s most exclusive areas.

The Coalition has hammered the poor by capping benefits and imposing the hated Bedroom Tax.

But hundreds of thousands of pounds have been spent on putting the Foreign Secretary up at One Carlton Garden in St James’s.

Labour’s David Miliband only used the des res – situated between Downing Street and Buckingham Palace – for official functions when he did the job.

At the time that was costing taxpayers just over £600,000 a year.

But former Tory leader Mr Hague and his wife Ffion took up residence after the last election.

That pushed the average annual cost to taxpayers up by £116,000 – or £2,250 a week – during their first three years there.

The astonishing bill was revealed as figures showed that the number of tenants facing eviction from rented accommodation has hit a 10-year high.

Landlords made 47,220 possession claims in county courts between January and March this year.

Campaigners said the vast cost of putting up the Hagues while others faced such tough times made a mockery of Tory claims that Britons are “all in it together”.

Disability and welfare rights activist Sue Marsh, of the Spartacus Network group, said: “I’m staggered. Who are the scroungers?

“The poor and vulnerable and disabled are being attacked and we see another minister getting as much as he can out of the taxpayer. It beggars belief.”

Steve Turner, of super union Unite, added: “The Tory mantra of we’re all in this together is a sick joke.

"While ordinary families have struggled in the face of austerity and been turfed out of their homes by the Bedroom Tax, William Hague has been living the high life at the taxpayer’s expense.”

Carlton Gardens cost taxpayers £606,435 in the year to April 2010 when Mr Miliband was Foreign Secretary.

That soared to £729,956 in the 12 months after the Hagues moved in. The cost was £742,677 and £697,385 for the next two years.

A Foreign Office spokesman said Carlton Gardens was used to carry out a wide range of Government business, adding: “We monitor usage and expenditure carefully to ensure it represents value for money for the taxpayer and all business held there delivers positive outcomes for the UK.”

Mr Hague made a fortune from writing and speaking engagements after stepping down as Tory leader in the wake of his 2001 election drubbing.

He has a home in London and can use a second official residence, Chevening in Kent. He shares use of the 115-room mansion with Deputy PM Nick Clegg.