Osborne slams Labour's 'fiddled' forecasts

Katrina Lloyd
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Chancellor George Osborne will today create an independent fiscal watchdog to rectify what he claims are "fixed" Treasury forecasts.

It is believed the move will help the Government pave the way for the stringent spending cuts it will announce in the next Budget. Osborne will name Sir Alan Budd, a former chief economic adviser to the Treasury, as the interim head of the Office for Budgetary Responsibility. His first task will be looking into the Treasury books and preparing a proper set of national accounts, according to the Financial Times. New forecasts will also be prepared in time for the June Budget. Osborne claims under Labour, forecasts were "fiddled" in order for them to present the Budget they wanted. ...

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