Rachel Reeves made a “glaring error” by suggesting she would hike income tax and then changing her mind, one of Labour’s most senior MPs has said in a warning to the Chancellor not to repeat the mistakes of the recent Budget.

Dame Meg Hillier, the chair of the House of Commons’ cross-party Treasury committee, said the behaviour of the Government in the run-up to the Budget was “akin to throwing several grenades on to the pitch”.

And she warned Reeves that the next head of the Budget watchdog must be fully independent from the Treasury – or her committee will veto the Chancellor’s choice. New Feature

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The Treasury committee is launching an inquiry into the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) following the watchdog’s accidental lea

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