AUSTERITY ..PART TWO

Treasury document reveals plan to freeze public pay and hike tax

- TORCUIL CRICHTON

BRITAIN faces spending cuts and tax hikes as it heads for a deep recession, Government documents have warned.

Figures yesterday showed the UK economy shrank two per cent in the first quarter of the year – the biggest fall in GDP since the end of 2008 at the height of the financial crisis.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “It is now very likely that the UK economy will face a significant recession this year and we are in the middle of that as we speak”.

The leaked documents showed Sunak could be forced to hike income tax, end the pensions triple lock and freeze public sector pay to meet the multibillion-pound cost of the Covid-19 crisis.