Hunt accused of exaggerating Tories' economic record as he signals tax cut

Jeremy Hunt has been accused of exaggerating the Conservatives' economic record and presenting a "dodgy dossier" on Labour's spending plans, as he moved to put low tax at the heart of his party's offer at the next election.

- Rowena Mason and Phillip Inman

The chancellor gave a speech in central London pitching the Conservatives as having helped the UK recover from economic troubles more quickly than expected. He also signalled a further cut to national insurance in the autumn, having already reduced the tax from 12p in the pound to 8p.

"If we can afford to go further, responsibly, to reduce the double tax on work this autumn, that is what I will do," he said, arguing the economy has already "turned a corner".

In contrast, he painted Labour as a party of high tax, and released a dossier claiming it had £38bn of unfunded policies, from spending on more GP appointments to extra mental health support teams.

The costings were carried out by civil servants at the request of the government, but based on interpretation of Labour's policies provided by Tory special advisers.

Darren Jones, Labour's shadow business secretary, described the document as a "desperate and cheap political stunt with a flawed dodgy dossier to distract from the Tories' record in government".

"But if the Tories want to play that game, we're happy to play it because we are confident our plans are fully funded and costed," he said.