John Swinney has said Rachel Reeves has “very clearly” misled the public over the state of the UK’s finances ahead of the Budget .

The First Minister said the Chancellor had described the fiscal situation as being “much graver than it actually was” in the run-up to last week’s Budget.

Labour ministers have denied any suggestion that Ms Reeves misled voters, with Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones saying there was a “funding gap” which needed to be addressed.

The UK Government says an Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast showing a £4.2 billion surplus against Ms Reeves’ borrowing rules did not take into account policies like the welfare reform U-turn or the abolition of the two-child benefit cap.

Mr Swinney spoke as he attended a ground-breaking ceremo

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