Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin, has attacked ministers' use of spin doctors, claiming them to be a "nuisance."

His comments follow an interview with international development secretary Clare Short, in which she described the government's presentation and style as "crummy and lousy."

Speaking to the BBC, the Glasgow Springburn MP argued that ministers should address members of the media directly.

"I find them a nuisance because they have got to keep themselves in a job and one of the ways they have got to keep themselves in a job is to make sure they are the person that you as a journalist have got to deal with at all times," he said.

"Therefore, it is in their best interests to make sure they say to their political masters: 'Look, we as spin doctors are very important indeed and you can't do without us'."

The number of spin doctors in Whitehall has risen from 38 to 81 since Labour came to power in 1997. In the next few weeks, the Committee for Standards in Public Life will publish its report into the relationship between the civil service and spin doctors, following the resignation of Jo Moore, spin doctor to former transport secretary Stephen Byers.

"I think that ministers and senior politicians could easily communicate with the media without spin doctors. There's no harm in speaking to journalists directly and that's what they should do. It's a bit like the emperor's clothes. Someone is going to come along one day and say: 'This is fantasy'," said Martin.

"We don't need these people. They are an absolute nuisance and we should do away with them.

"In Glasgow, there's an old saying that you should speak to the engineer and not the sweat rag."