John Swinney has said Rachel Reeves has “very clearly” misled the public over the state of the UK’s finances ahead of the Budget.
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 Budget.
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.
Swinney spoke as he attended a ground-breaking ceremony for the Dunard Centre in Edinburgh, the city’s first new concert hall to be built in 100 years.
He told journalists: “Rachel Reeves very clearly misled the public.
“She had information from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) before she made her infamous Downing Street speech, in which she suggested the situation was much graver than it actually was.”
The First Minister said the Chancellor’s position appeared to be “untenable” and the case should be referred to the Government’s ethics adviser.
He said the Scottish Government is considering the implications of the UK Budget, ahead of the Scottish Budget being revealed in January.
Swinney was asked about his government’s funding to mitigate the two-child benefit cap and how this would be allocated now that the Chancellor has abolished the cap.
He said: “We’ve not come to decisions on that yet, and we’ve got to make a careful judgment about the level of the Scottish Child Payment.
“Because the level of the Scottish child payment is significant for lifting children out of poverty, but it also has to be consistent with approaches to supporting parents into employability and other such measures.”
Speaking earlier at the same event in Edinburgh, Scotland Office minister Kirsty McNeill said Labour had inherited an economy in a “terrible state”.
She said: “We’ve been able to stabilise the economy. That’s why we’ve been able to have five interest rate cuts since Labour came to power.”
McNeil dismissed calls for the Chancellor to quit, saying: “The Chancellor did a superb job of having a Labour Budget guided by Labour values.
“It’s taken £150 off people’s energy bills. We’ve got £10 billion extra coming in to the Scottish Government to fund Scottish public services.
“It was a great Budget for Scotland, and one focused on Labour values.”
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