Rishi Sunak has been warned of a "mortgage catastrophe" facing Brits as he was told the story of a police officer who could be forced to sell his home and downsize.
Labour leader Keir Starmer said the cop, James, who lives in Selby and has voted for the Tories since 1998, is now facing a £400-per-month hike in payments.
Like millions of people across the country his fixed-rate mortgage is up for renewal in 2024 - and now faces being forced to sell his home in order to downsize.
Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Starmer said: "The Tory mortgage penalty is going to cost him [James] £400 more each and every month.
"He told me this morning they've decided to sell their house to downsize. He's just told his children they are going to have to start sharing bedrooms.
"Why should James and his family pay the cost of the Prime Minister's failure?"
In response, Mr Sunak, however, deflected and claimed Labour's plans for the economy would "make the situation worse"
"The IMF has said that our plan prioritises not what is politically easy but what is right for the British people, that is what responsible economic leadership looks like," he added.
The exchange came just 24 hours after the consumer champion Martin Lewis warned that a “mortgage ticking time bomb” has now “exploded”.
The founder of Moneysavingexpert.com said he warned Chancellor Jeremy Hunt about the threat from rising mortgage rates at a summit in December.
“Yet now the time bomb has exploded and we’re scrambling about what to do,” he said.
During a meeting on Thursday the Bank of England is expected to hike its base rate on Thursday from 4.5% to 4.75% in a desperate bid to cool inflation.
The latest figures published today show inflation remained unchanged at 8.7% in the 12 months to May - despite hopes it would fall.
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