Reeves and Hunt come to brink of fisticuffs over mysteriously absent £22bn

Rachel Reeves speaks during a press conference following her statement to the House of Commons on the findings of the Treasury audit into the state of the public finances Photograph: WPA/Getty Images

The timing could have been better. For much of the last few weeks the Tory party has been dancing on eggshells around Labour. As if in awe of their majority. Still suffering PTSD from 4 July. Bunkering down. Even at their only prime minister’s questions, Rishi Sunak had chosen to ask about Ukraine: a subject on which everyone agrees. It was as though everyone was just trying to somehow make it through to the summer recess vaguely intact.

It had all been going so well. Then on Monday it had all kicked off, with Rachel Reeves accusing the Tories of covering up a £22bn black hole in the public finances. Jeremy Hunt had angrily denied this.