The former defence secretary criticised the ‘chaos’ he said surrounded Rachel Reeves’s Budget after receiving his knighthood from the Princess Royal.

Former defence secretary Sir Grant Shapps has labelled Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s Budget “chaotically delivered” and “catastrophic”.

The former Conservative MP received a knighthood from the Princess Royal at Windsor Castle on Wednesday, just hours after Ms Reeves delivered her second Budget, which included a £26 billion tax hike.

Sir Grant, who also served as home secretary, business secretary and transport secretary in past Tory governments, also criticised the blunder of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which published full details of the Budget shortly before it was delivered.

He said: “I was getting ready to come here (to

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