'Of course I didn't' lie about budget forecasts, Reeves insists to Sky News

The chancellor has insisted to Sky News that she did not prevarication to the nationalist astir the authorities of the nationalist finances up of the budget.

Rachel Reeves is facing wide accusations that successful a code from Downing Street connected 4 November successful which she laid the groundwork for taxation rises, she lied astir the authorities of the nationalist finances.

Asked straight by Sky's Trevor Phillips if she lied, she said: "Of people I didn't."

Follow the latest updates from Westminster

Ms Reeves said the determination by the autarkic Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to reappraisal and downgrade productivity meant that the forecast for taxation receipts was £16bn little than expected, and said she needed taxation rises to make much fiscal headroom to reassure the fiscal markets and make stableness successful the economy.

But coupled with different changes successful the fiscal forecast, the chancellor knew determination was a £4.3bn fund surplus erstwhile she delivered her Downing Street speech, and Trevor challenged her connected wherefore she did not accidental that to the nation, and reason that much headroom was needed.

She replied: "I said successful that code that I wanted to execute 3 things successful the fund - tackling the outgo of living, which is wherefore I took £150 disconnected of vigor bills and froze medicine charges and obstruction fares.

"I wanted to proceed to chopped NHS waiting lists, which is wherefore I protected NHS spending. And I wanted to bring the indebtedness and the borrowing down, which is 1 of the reasons wherefore I accrued the headroom.

"£4bn of headroom would not person been enough, and it would not springiness the Bank of England abstraction to proceed to chopped involvement rates."

This breaking quality communicative is being updated and much details volition beryllium published shortly.

Please refresh the leafage for the latest version.

You tin person breaking quality alerts connected a smartphone oregon tablet via the Sky News app. You tin besides follow america connected WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to support up with the latest news.