The Tories are continuing to defend Rishi Sunak’s warning that Labour will hike taxes by £2,000 despite Treasury officials distancing themselves from the claim.
Shadow Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said the Prime Minister was “a liar” who had “resorted to using made up figures.”
During Tuesday’s televised debate with Sir Keir Starmer, the Tory leader repeatedly claimed “independent Treasury officials” had costed Labour’s policies “and they amount to a £2,000 tax rise for everyone”.
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The claim comes from a Treasury document produced by the party estimating the cost attached to potential Labour policies.
It claimed that the difference between the money that Labour would raise from its policies and the amount it would spend would be a deficit of £38.5 billion over four years, amounting to around £2,094 for every working household.
However, the Treasury’s permanent secretary James Bowler said ministers had been told not to suggest civil servants produced the figure, as officials were using assumptions provided by politically appointed special advisers.
In a letter to Labour’s shadow Treasury chief secretary Darren Jones he said the £38.5 billion total for Labour policies in the Tory document “includes costs beyond those provided by the Civil Service”.
“Costings derived from other sources or produced by other organisations should not be presented as having been produced by the Civil Service,” he said in a letter to Mr Jones on June 3.
“I have reminded ministers and advisers that this should be the case.”
Nevertheless, Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho repeated the claim on Wednesday, saying it was based on “official costings from the Treasury”.
She told BBC Breakfast: “I’ve worked in the Treasury and I can tell you that these are brilliant, independent civil servants and they would not be putting anything dodgy in there.”
On Times Radio Ms Coutinho even claimed “this is something which has been signed off by the permanent secretary of the Treasury”, adding “those costings have been done by independent Treasury civil servants”.
Mr Murray, the Shadow Scottish Secretary said: “Rishi Sunak is a liar who has resorted to using made-up figures to try and revive his flagging campaign.
“This is a sign of how chaotic and desperate the Tory campaign has become.
“The Tories have hiked tax 26 times and made £71 billion worth of unfunded promises – the only person putting public finances at risk is Rishi Sunak.
“Labour will treat public money with respect and we will not hike income tax, national insurance, or VAT.
“This is an opportunity we cannot afford to miss – by voting Scottish Labour we can make sure we get rid of this rotten Tory government and restore integrity, honesty and economic stability in politics.”
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A snap poll from YouGov suggested the Prime Minister performed marginally better, with 51% making him the winner against 49% for Sir Keir among people who expressed a preference.
But a Savanta survey pointed to a more convincing victory for Sir Keir on 53%, ahead of Mr Sunak on 47%, excluding those who said they did not know.
Perhaps the most telling findings from the YouGov survey were that 62% found the ITV debate frustrating and just 17% found it a helpful exercise.
The SNP’s Kate Forbes was asked about the debate during a campaign stop in Linlithgow. She said the lack of mention of Scotland was revealing.
"I think last night's debate tells us everything we need to know about this election.
"First of all, Labour and the Tories will turn up in Scotland and make nice comments. And then you watch the debate and they don't mention Scotland once.
"And that's precisely why we need SNP MPs in Westminster, making sure that the next government doesn't forget about Scotland. "
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