Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced plans to cut the size of the civil service as he faced Tory demands to slash taxes and trim the size of the state.Mr Hunt said the move could save £1 billion a year and indicated that improving public sector productivity could allow him to reduce the tax burden.Although he ruled out sizeable tax cuts this year, he left open the door to the possibility of a pre-election giveaway in 2024 as Rishi Sunak seeks to defy the opinion polls and retain the keys to No 1

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced plans to cut the size of the civil service as he faced Tory demands to slash taxes and trim the size of the state.Mr Hunt said the move could save £1 billion a year and indicated that improving public sector productivity could allow him to reduce the tax burden.Although he ruled out sizeable tax cuts this year, he left open the door to the possibility of a pre-election giveaway in 2024 as Rishi Sunak seeks to defy the opinion polls and retain the keys to No 10.