Philip Hammond has delivered his first ever Spring Statement, in which he announced slightly higher economic growth than expected.
The Chancellor - who has been criticised for being gloomy over Brexit - also attacked Labour as "Eeyores" for "relentlessly talking Britain down". In contrast, he said, his approach was more akin to "Tigger".
In a short speech that was stripped of tax and spending measures, Mr Hammond confirmed an expected drop in borrowing, higher-than-predicted GDP growth and the recent elimination of the deficit on day-to-day spending.
Meanwhile, Russia hit back at Theresa May after she issued an ultimatum to Vladimir Putin over the use of a deadly Russian nerve agent against an ex-spy and his daughter.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the British government had refused to provide Moscow with access to materials related to the substance used to poison Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury last weekend.
And in Brussels, MEPs said the Prime Minister has not provided enough clarity on Brexit ahead of a crunch vote to decide the EU's Brexit vision.
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