The figures, revealed in a parliamentary question put down by Neil, show that average student debt upon entering repayment in 1999 was £2863, but that by 2007, this figure had risen to £5808.

Neil said: "These shocking figures highlight how little Labour actually did for students during their eight years in power.

"Labour first came to power in 1997 with the mantra of ‘education, education, education’. Instead we got tuition fees, tuition fees, tuition fees - debt, debt and more debt.

"There are obviously other barriers to education, but it is clear that mounting debt is a massive deterrent.

"It’s astonishing that a Labour Government could have gone out of their way to make higher education as inaccessible as possible to working class kids."

However Labour’s higher education spokesman Richard Baker said that Neil had neglected to mention that over the same period student numbers increased and Labour introduced the Young Students Bursary.

"We also ensured that far more students became eligible for the bursary while we were in office, while the SNP have now changed the means test rules so that hundreds of students from poorer backgrounds are now losing bursary income," Baker said.

"The concerns of Alex Neil and the SNP over graduate debt would have far more credibility if they weren't taking bursaries away from poorer students, which will increase their debt and if they had accepted our proposals for substantial increases in bursaries rather than just an increase with inflation.

"It is also a bit rich from Alex Neil when the promised to wipe all graduate debt in the election only to dump that promise when they came to power, a cynical betrayal of students."