Rachel Reeves has blamed the impact of Brexit as she prepares to increase taxes and slash public spending in next month’s Budget.

The chancellor said the economic consequences of leaving the European Union were “severe and long lasting”.

Her comments are the harshest criticism of the UK’s decision to quit the EU in the 2016 referendum by a Labour minister.

It indicates that she plans to pin the blame on Reform UK leader and enthusiastic Brexit backer Nigel Farage for Britain’s economic woes.

Reeves also said the last Tory government’s austerity programme, as well as Liz Truss’s mini-Budget , had contributed to the £30 billion black hole she needs to fill.

Speaking to Sky News , she said: “Already, people thought that the UK economy would be 4% smaller because of Brexit.

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