The official statistics watchdog has reprimanded the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, after he claimed public debt levels would fall in the coming years, when in fact they are simply forecast to rise less steeply than previously expected.
The head of the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA), Sir Robert Chote, said the watchdog’s regulatory arm had spoken to Treasury officials to warn them about accuracy after a complaint by the Labour MP Dame Angela Eagle over a tweet the chancellor sent on 25 April.
