Former Conservative chancellor Jeremy Hunt urges the government to cut public sector waste instead of raising taxes to fund Budget pledges.

Former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt urges Chancellor John Healey to avoid tax rises in the Budget and instead cut Civil Service headcount, welfare spending and public sector waste, citing estimates that over half of the £22billion headroom inherited from Rachel Reeves has been wiped out by borrowing costs and that returning the benefit bill to 2019 levels would save £58billion a year within five years.