Labour ministers ordered expensive computer projects as an afterthought or in an effort to make their policies “sound sexy”, according to a biting attack on the government by Tony Blair’s former IT chief.

In a speech to the public administration committee, head of the government’s Efficiency and Reform Group, Ian Watmore, said it is also necessary to highlight IT problems earlier in the delivery process of government policies.

Watmore said many of the issues arise from ministers and senior officials quickly losing interest soon after a policy announcement.

The coalition government has already called a halt to big IT projects in a strategy document, and has vowed instead to invest in smaller ones, with no scheme costing more than £100million.

Procurement will also be opened up to smaller groups, the government said, who may in the past have found it difficult to compete with the IT giants.

Watmore added that he is looking to end the UK government’s dependence on Microsoft products, and instead look towards open source software in an effort to save cash, although said they must be mindful of how easily this can be hacked.

Finally, he claimed that Apple products, which he uses at home, should be employed more by the government.

The allegations came as the government published its ICT strategy for the year ahead.

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