UK’s top universities spent over £1.4million on booze between 2014 and 2017 for staff and students

THE country's top universities spent more than £1.4million on booze over the last three years for students and staff.

The Russell Group, which represents the UK’s top 24 research universities including Oxford and Cambridge, spent the staggering amount on wine, beer and spirits during official functions between 2014 - 2017.

Shockingly the real figure is thought to be much higher but just eight of the Russell Group replied to The Sun’s Freedom of Information (FoI) request.

While only eight of Cambridge's 31 colleges and eight of the 38 colleges in Oxford replied.

The University of Cambridge spent the most on official functions with £593,454 while their close rivals Oxford University drank £319,061 of booze, followed by with £178,563.

Last year the total amount of alcohol consumed was £317,073, down from £571,408 in 2015 and £514,653 in 2014.

Our revelations come as Universities Minister Jo Johnson called on universities to show restraint on vice-chancellors’ pay.

He said: “The new regulator, which we've recently created to promote value for money in the system, the Office for Students, I've asked it to ensure that exceptional pay can only be justified by exceptional performance.”

He defined exceptional pay as above the Prime Minister's salary of around £150,000.

Yesterday Theresa May’s former chief of staff, Nick Timothy, said the university system is an “unsustainable and ultimately pointless Ponzi scheme” that leaves young people in tens of thousands of pounds of debt.

He was backed by the ex-head of Ofsted, Sir Michael Wilshaw, who told BBC Radio 4’s World at One that universities must stop paying vice-chancellors “hugely inflated salaries.”

The Sun’s probe comes just a day after 416,310 people accepted places at universities up and down the country following A-Level results.

This was down two per cent compared to last year.

A Russell Group spokesman said: “Over the last five years our members spent more than £30billion on staff and invested £9billion in facilities to ensure students left university having had a world-class learning experience, not simply a glass of wine at graduation.”