RACHEL Reeves has denied lying to the public after claims she misled the country over a £30 billion black hole in the UK finances.
The Chancellor rebutted accusations she had “cried wolf” and bizarrely claimed the Budget changes were “out of my control”.
Pressure continues to grow on Ms Reeves, who faces further calls to resign following a chaotic Budget week.
Her much-anticipated report descended into disarray before Wednesday’s speech – after the Office of Budget Responsibility published it early.
Even in the run-up, the Chancellor spent weeks warning she had “tough decisions” to make due to a shock productivity downgrade.
But the OBR has since blown the story apart, revealing it told Ms Reeves in September the downgrade had been fully offset by soaring tax revenues.
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By October 31, the watchdog said the black hole had vanished altogether — replaced by a £4.2billion surplus above her day-to-day spending plans.
Despite this, Reeves pushed on and unleashed a litany of tax hikes, vowing to reduce inflation and “provide relief” for families.
And it has been met with calls for the Chancellor to be investigated amid claims she lied to voters about her “cry wolf” Budget.
Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride wants the Financial Conduct Authority to investigate “possible market abuse” by the Treasury and No10.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said the shocking revelations were “yet more evidence” the Chancellor “must be sacked”.
She added: “For months Reeves has lied to the public to justify record tax hikes to pay for more welfare.
“Her Budget wasn’t about stability. It was about politics: bribing Labour MPs to save her own skin. Shameful.”
And former head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies Paul Johnson said: “I think it [her November 4 press conference] probably was misleading.
“It was clearly intended to have an impact and confirm what independent forecasters like NIESR and the IFS had been saying.
“It was designed to confirm a narrative that there was a fiscal black hole that needed to be filled with significant tax rises.
“In fact, as she knew at the time, no such hole existed.”
A Downing Street spokesman denied that Ms Reeves had “misled” the markets and the public.
Asked about the OBR telling Ms Reeves the downgrade had been fully offset, he said: “At the Budget she set out the decisions very, very clearly.”
Told Ms Reeves may have “significantly misled” the markets and the public, the spokesman replied: “I don’t accept that.
“As she set out in the speech she gave here, she talked about the challenges the country is facing.
“She set out the decisions very clearly at the Budget.”
It comes after the budget watchdog predicted the UK economy will grow at a slower rate than expected.
A Treasury spokesperson said: “The Chancellor made her choices to cut the cost of living…
“… cut hospital waiting lists and double headroom to cut the cost of our debt.”
Former minister and Tory member of the Treasury Select Committee John Glen also accused Ms Reeves of misleading the public.
He said: “The whole country will think: ‘what the hell is she doing’.
“She told the public she needed to make tough decisions to fill a gap in funding identified by the OBR.
“That was not true and she knew it was not true when she said it.
“It was all an elaborate ploy to try and excuse her decision to break her manifesto pledge on taxes.”
Hitting back at The Tories, a Labour Party spokesperson said: “Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives have zero credibility with the economy.
“Their only so-called ‘plan’ is to take us back to austerity with £47billion of cuts.”
