Sunak Accused Of Lying As Watchdog Probes Tax Claim

Rishi Sunak's hopes of pulling off a surprise victory in the general election appeared to have unravelled yesterday on another day in which the Tory campaign was beset by a series of crises.

- KATE DEVLIN , ARCHIE MITCHELL & DAVID MADDOX

In the wake of Tuesday’s debate on ITV, which had been crucial for Mr Sunak to start to close Labour’s poll lead of more than 20 points, he was being branded “a liar” by Sir Keir Starmer after the Treasury distanced itself from the prime minister’s allegations about Labour’s tax plans. This came as:

• The UK’s official statistics regulator said it was investigating Mr Sunak’s claim that Labour will hike household taxes by £2,000 if they win the election

• A new YouGov poll suggested Reform UK was just two points behind the Tories, with the parties on 19 per cent and 17 per cent

• A row erupted over attempts to force the Billericay and Basildon constituency to accept Tory party chairman Richard Holden as a candidate

• New Home Office figures revealed that 40,000 asylum seekers had crossed the Channel on small boats in the 18 months since Mr Sunak promised to “stop the boats”

The day began with the Treasury’s permanent secretary James Bowler distancing his department from claims Mr Sunak made to the nation in the ITV debate that Labour would have to increase taxes by more than £2,000 per household.

This was later followed by the Office for Statistics Regulation launching a probe into the figure, which was the centrepiece of the prime minister’s attack on the opposition in Tuesday night’s TV debate. It sparked a barrage of condemnation from Labour’s shadow cabinet, with several of the party’s top politicians accusing the PM of deliberately lying to the public.

In response, a defiant Conservative leader and energy secretary Claire Coutinho doubled down, repeating the assertion.