Official says Tory tax claim wasn’t produced by civil service

The top Treasury civil servant has said the Conservatives’ assessment of Labour’s tax plans “should not be presented as having been produced by the civil service”.

In a letter to the Labour Party two days ago, seen by the BBC, Treasury permanent secretary James Bowler said the calculation of £38bn of uncosted spending used by the Tories “includes costs beyond those provided by the civil service”.

The letter risks undermining Rishi Sunak’s claim in Tuesday evening’s head-to-head debate that Labour’s plans would mean £2,000 of tax rises per working household.

Labour’s Jonathan Ashworth said the letter was “slam dunk proof of Rishi Sunak’s big desperate lie”.

During the debate itself, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer dismissed the figures as “absolute garbage”.

Defending the claim, Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho told the BBC the figures were “official costings from the Treasury”, based on policies set out in Labour documents and signed off by the permanent secretary.