First Minister hits out at the Chancellor for 'misleading the public

John Swinney says Rachel Reeves has "very clearly" misled the public over the state of the UK's finances ahead of the Budget.

- RACHEL KEENAN AND NEIL POORAN, PA SCOTLAND

The First Minister said the Chancellor had described the fiscal situation as being "much graver than it actually was" in the run-up to last week's financial statement in the House of Commons.

Labour ministers have denied any suggestion that Ms Reeves misled voters, with chief secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones saying there was a "funding gap" which needed to be addressed.

The UK Government says an Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast showing a £4.2 billion surplus against Ms Reeves' borrowing rules did not take into account policies like the welfare reform U-turn or the abolition of the two-child benefit cap.