David Cameron's spin king Andy Coulson paid £2,000 less than the PM

David Cameron's communications chief Andy Coulson is being paid £140,000 a year - a fraction below the Prime Minister, Downing Street revealed today.

As part of the new Government's "transparency" pledge, the salaries of all special advisers in No 10 have been published.

The figures reveal that the total cost of the "spin team" was £4.9 million - £1.9 million less than under Gordon Brown.

Mr Cameron is paid £142,050 a year. Mr Coulson, former News of the World editor, has taken a large pay cut to move to Downing Street from his previous role as the Conservatives' communications director, where he was paid around £250,000 a year.

A Government spokesman said: "Andy has made a clear commitment to work for the Government and has always said that if that means a pay cut, so be it."