IT services supplier Accenture has received £700 million in fees from the government since 2004, according to figures compiled by the Liberal Democrat party.

The company was the principal beneficiary of what the Lib Dems described as the present government’s “consultaholic” tendencies. It has spent a combined £1.7 billion on consultants in the past six year, with its annual expenditure multiply five times over in that period.

However, Accenture told the Financial Times that much of the money it has received from the government relates to the design and build of IT systems, not consultancy.

Other big recipients include PricewaterhouseCooper and Deloitte, which received £700 million between since 2004.