The Chancellor has been accused of insulting public sector workers over the lack of a rise in public sector pay at today's Budget.
Rishi Sunak faced criticism from the Daily Mail for not increasing public sector pay for frontline workers during a pandemic.
He was asked: "What do you say to those who say it's an insult that there is no pay rise for public sector workers on the frontline?"
Yet Sunak told the No 10 news conference that the private sector had seen job losses and falling wages – almost none of which had happened in the public sector.
“Given that and given the very obviously difficult fiscal situation that we face, I thought for those reasons, and also to try to protect those public-sector jobs, it was reasonable to take a more targeted approach to public-sector pay this year,” he said.
He said that while there had been a “pause” in public-sector pay increases outside the NHS, the majority in the public sector would still see their pay increase next year.
He was also accused of not using 'fair criteria' by the Financial Times in deciding where money should go for large-scale investment projects announced in the Budget.
The Financial Times said that his constituency area of Richmond in Yorkshire was one of the places that was in the top priority for funding as a result of today's measures.
Yet Sunak rejected this, and said the criteria used to decide projects for investment was transparent and objective.
He was also accused by the Times of threatening to choke off the recovery of the economy by putting up corporation tax.
However, Sunak again disagreed - and said the measures being taken would only affect the most profitable businesses, and were proportionate and fair.
