Rachel Reeves has defended her handling of the Budget as opposition figures claimed she misled the public over the size of the fiscal “repair job” she faces.

In media interviews on Sunday morning, the Chancellor said she “of course” did not lie to the public when she set out a gloomy economic picture at the beginning of November.

She told broadcasters: “Anyone who thinks that there was no repair job to be done on the public finances, I just don’t accept that.

“We needed to build more resilience, more headroom into our economy. That’s what I did, along with that investment in the NHS and cutting bills for families.”

Pre-Budget speculation had suggested Ms Reeves faced a significant gap in her spending plans, partly due to a downgrade to productivity forecasts expected to be deliver

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