Number 10 has defended having an 8-strong production crew employed to create promotional videos applauding the government's accomplishments.
Just weeks out from the local elections, the release of two glossy films has raised questions about whether public money is effectively being spent on Tory campaign material.
The PM is already under fire for employing three vanity photographers at taxpayer expense, whose assignments have included a photoshoot of the PM's dog Dilyn playing in the snow.
The government is set to release a half-hour faux documentary entitled "A Beacon of Hope" this week, promoting the government's vaccine rollout efforts.
Bizarrely, the government promoted the film on Twitter yesterday with a trailer.
The Prime Minister's spokesman, who is ultimately in charge of the team behind the clip, said it numbered "about eight" crew.
But he said he didn't know what their budget was.
And he admitted a second production team works next door in the Treasury, and was behind the glossy promo film of Rishi Sunak released before the Budget.
Yesterday, Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner said: "The Government must come clean about how much taxpayers' money was spent making this ‘documentary’ and for what purpose.
“Surely the money would be better spent on pay rises for the NHS staff who have been saving lives throughout this pandemic and are now rolling out the vaccine.
“Sorry for the spoiler, but we already know the plot twist will be the Prime Minister choosing to cut the pay of the same nurses delivering the vaccine to the British people, while handing out billions in contracts to Conservative Party donors and cronies."
Asked if the PM thought the film was a good use of taxpayers' money, his spokesman said: "That's a video to thank everybody involved in what has been an incredible national effort developing and distributing vaccines across the UK.
"It's also part of our work to encourage even more people to come forward and take the jabs and to continue to build confidence in the safety and efficacy of the vaccinations.
"I would also add that it was made by an in-house Number 10 team, the social media team here in Number 10, absolutely no additional cost to the taxpayer."
Asked to accept that even an in-house team costs the taxpayer money, the spokesman said: "It's the social media team in Number 10 producing social media content, as you see every day...it's their role to demonstrate what the government is doing."
He insisted it was "produced here by the team using the equipment they've got. I'd like to think all of our social media content is highly professional."
