Liz Truss held crunch talks with the independent fiscal watchdog that lasted less than 48 minutes today amid chaos in the markets following the mini-Budget.
The Prime Minister and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng met members of the Office for Budget Responsibility(OBR) as the Government scrambles to stem the economic panic triggered by last Friday's tax-cutting blitz.
Richard Hughes, Andy King and Professor David Miles, members of the OBR's budget responsibility committee, were seen walking into No11 Downing Street at 9.45am. They emerged into the street at 10.33am.
In a statement, the watchdog said it would provide a forecast to the Chancellor next Friday based on "our independent judgement about economic and fiscal prospects and the impact of the Government’s policies."
Ms Truss has been under intense pressure to U-turn after the pound crashed to a record low against the dollar and the cost of Government borrowing soared.
The failure to ask the OBR to publish a forecast for the financial statement appears to be among the key factors causing jitters in the City.
The OBR confirmed it had prepared a draft forecast for the new Chancellor on his first day in office in a letter to MPs last night.
In a statement, the OBR said: "The OBR’s Budget Responsibility Committee met with the Prime Minister and Chancellor this morning. We discussed the Economic and fiscal outlook and the forecast we are preparing for the Chancellor’s Medium-term Fiscal Plan.
"We will deliver the first iteration of that forecast to the Chancellor on Friday 7 October and will set out the full timetable up to 23 November next week.
"The forecast will, as always, be based on our independent judgment about economic and fiscal prospects and the impact of the Government’s policies."
Treasury Minister Andrew Griffith today doubled down on the claim that OBR wouldn't have had time to do an independent forecast before Friday's mini-Budget.
He told Sky News: "It seems to me a very good idea that the Prime Minister and Chancellor are sitting down with the independent OBR - just like the independent Bank of England, they have got a really important role to play.
"We all want the forecasts to be as quick as they can, but also as a former finance director I also know you want them to have the right level of detail."
Asked about reports the OBR could have carried out a forecast in time for the mini-budget, Mr Griffith said: "That forecast wouldn't have had the growth measures in that plan. They were being finalised in the hours before the Chancellor stood up."
Ms Truss rejected calls for a U-turn in a series of brutal BBC local radio interviews on Thursday, where she was asked asked "where have you been?" after days of silence.
As each presenter rushed through just a few minutes’ of precious time, she was also asked whether she was "ashamed of what you've done" and "what on earth were you thinking".
One presenter asked: "Have you taken the keys to the country and crashed the economy?".
Another said: "It's hard to know what is falling more since you entered Downing Street, the value of the pound or the Tory poll rating".
In her first public comments since the mini-budget market chaos, Ms Truss defended Mr Kwarteng's measures, insisting "urgent action" was needed.
Despite calls from opposition parties and some Tory MPs and the IMF to abandon the tax slashing measures for the richest 1%, the Prime Minister repeatedly insisted she had the "right plan".
But she admitted the Government's decisions have been "controversial".
After the Bank of England's £65 billion bailout to stop pension funds going bust, she said: "As Prime Minister, I have to do what I believe is right for the country".
But former Tory chancellor Ken Clarke warned: "I've never known a Budget to cause a financial crisis like this before.”
He added: "I still hope in two years' time, they might look like a normal, competent, Conservative government because no Conservative government in my lifetime would ever have made a mistake of this kind".
Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “The Prime Minister’s interviews this morning have made this disastrous situation even worse.
"Her failure to answer questions about what will happen with people’s pensions and mortgages will leave families across the country facing huge worry.”
