The chancellor has insisted to Sky News that she did not lie to the public about the state of the public finances ahead of the budget.

Rachel Reeves is facing widespread accusations that in a speech from Downing Street on 4 November in which she laid the groundwork for tax rises, she misled the country and led the public to believe the fiscal situation was worse than it actually was.

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

Follow the latest updates from Westminster

Ms Reeves said the decision by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to review and downgrade productivity meant that the forecast for tax receipts was £16bn lower than expected, and said she needed tax rises to create more fiscal headroom (the amount by which gove

See Full Page