Sir Keir Starmer faced a series of probing questions on Monday on whether Rachel Reeves “lied” to the public and misled the Cabinet over a black hole in the public finances ahead of the Budget.

The Prime Minister was seeking to focus on the “substance” of the Budget such as tackling the cost-of-living crisis, protecting public services including the NHS, and reducing the nation’s debt.

But his attempts to do this risked being overshadowed by the growing storm over whether the Chancellor had been honest with voters and even fellow ministers on the state of the public finances ahead of the Budget on November 26.

“There was no misleading,” the PM insisted.

After a speech in central London on addressing poverty, welfare reforms and economic growth, including closer ties with the EU, he tol

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