Sir Keir Starmer sidestepped questions over a possible National Insurance hike as Rishi Sunak pushed the Labour leader on borrowing and tax.

During Prime Minister's Questions, he was asked about reports of a change to the way the UK Government measures debt. 

The Tory leader pointed out that Rachel Reeves had previously compared this tweak to “fiddling the books".

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According to reports, the Chancellor told the cabinet on Tuesday she wanted to change how the Treasury accounted for capital spending to reflect its benefits.

This could mean an alternative way of measuring the size of the UK’s debt, taking account of the value of the assets the government holds.

According to the Guardian, measuring the net worth or the net financial liabilities held by the Government could give the Chancellor room to borrow as much as £50bn more than currently planned.

This is despite a recent rise in the government’s borrowing costs.

Ms Reeves is set to deliver her budget and one-year spending review at the end of the month.

The Prime Minister has already warned that it will be “painful” with the Government needing to plug what they say is a £22bn shortfall in the public finances.

In the Commons on Wednesday, Sir Keir refused to be drawn on the reports, saying he could not get ahead of the Budget on October 30.

Mr Sunak said: “Before the election, his Chancellor said changing the debt target in the fiscal rules would be tantamount to ‘fiddling the figures’.

“Does he still agree with the Chancellor?”

The Prime Minister said: “This is literally the man who was in charge of the economy, 14 years they’ve crashed the economy. What did they leave? A £22bn black hole in the economy.

“Unlike them, we won’t walk past it. We will fix it. And it’s only because we are stabilising the economy that we are getting the investment into this country. But I still notice he has hasn’t talked about that investment.

“We are powering ahead with clean British energy, we are changing the rules to build 1.5 million homes and returning railways to public ownership, and they’ve got nothing to say about any of this.”

Mr Sunak also mocked Sir Keir over the ousting of Sue Gray as his chief of staff as he asked about a possible National Insurance hike. 

The former prime minister said: “I know that not everything or everyone has survived his first 100 days in Government, so can he confirm that when he promised not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT, that commitment applies to both employer and employee national insurance contributions?”

Sir Keir replied: “We made an absolute commitment in relation to not raising tax on working people.

“He, of course, was the expert’s expert on raising taxes. What did we get in return for it? We got a broken economy, broken public services, and a £22 billion black hole in the economy. We’re here to stabilise the economy, and we will do so.”

Mr Sunak said he did not think Labour donor Lord Waheed Alli was “buying any of that nonsense”, adding: “I’m not asking about the Budget, I’m asking specifically about the promise he made to the British people.

“So let me ask him again, just to clarify his own promise. Does his commitment not to raise national insurance apply to both employee and employer national insurance contributions?”

Sir Keir replied: “We set out our promises in our manifesto. We were returned with a huge majority to change the country for the better, and I stick to my promises in the manifesto.”

Mr Sunak joked in reply: “When it comes to his answer on tax, businesses across the country will have found his answer just about as reassuring as Sue Gray did when he promised to protect her job.”

Mr Sunak continued to press on the issue, saying: “As the Institute for Fiscal Studies has said, it’s hard to escape the suspicion that the Government is attracted to this change because it would allow for significantly more borrowing.

“Now his Chancellor previously said that this change, and I quote, her words, would be, ‘fiddling the figures’. So it is a simple question: does he still agree with the Chancellor?”

Sir Keir replied: “I see he’s back to his old script they’ve never had it so good, that didn’t work so well at the election. It might be time to change that.

“I’m not going to get drawn on issues on the Budget, just as he wouldn’t when he was standing at this despatch box.”

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During the session, Sir Keir also told MPs that British sovereignty of the Falkland Islands and Gibraltar was not up for negotiation.

Concerns over the territories were raised after the Government announced its decision to relinquish sovereignty over the Chagos Islands.

Sir Keir said: “My uncle nearly lost his life when his ship was torpedoed defending the Falklands, they are British, and they will remain British. And sovereignty in Gibraltar is equally not to be negotiated.

“Of course, we will do everything we can to make it easier for all businesses to trade more freely so that we can grow our economy. I’ve been very clear about the Falklands, it’s personal to me.”