Chief sec to the Treasury: ‘I’m not going to apologise’ for mini-budget – but ‘no one’s perfect’

 The chief secretary to the Treasury has said he’s “not going to apologise” for the mini-budget, as he hits back at the International Monetary Fund’s criticism this morning. 

Chris Philp said he “respectfully disagrees” with the IMF, which said the tax cuts would create more inequality in Britain, while speaking on Sky News this morning. 

In a staunch defence of government policy, he said it was “true” that abandoning the 45p tax rate would help the better off. 

Philp said  it “very often those are people who are internationally mobile – they can choose where to locate people… and we want those people to locate here in the UK”.

This comes after the Bank of England intervened yesterday in a bid to cool markets which had been sent into a tailspin by the mini-budget, with the pound sliding to near parity with the dollar. 

Asked if the measures had included any errors, he said “no one’s perfect”, but he’s “not going to sort of apologise for having a plan to grow the UK’s economy.”

Defending the embattled chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, who is facing calls to quit over the mini-budget, Philp added he “is in constant contact with the markets.”

“He’s meeting the governor of the Bank of England on a very regular basis.”

Yesterday, Sir Keir Starmer called on Parliament to be recalled to sort out the economic turmoil, “before any more damage is done.