Government defends £6.2bn spending cuts

The Government today defended £6.2 billion of spending cuts announced on Monday as necessary to tackle the "economic mess" inherited from Labour.

Answering an emergency question in the Commons, Treasury Financial Secretary David Laws said they were only the first steps needed to put the public finances "back in shape".

But shadow chancellor Alistair Darling insisted the cuts went "far beyond" those foreshadowed by the Conservatives during the general election campaign and risked a still fragile recovery.

Tory backbenchers repeatedly shouted out that Mr Darling should apologise for the economic situation Labour had left the coalition Government to sort out.

More follows