‘Fiscal drag queen’ Jeremy Hunt calls BBC presenter ‘unworthy’ as he lashes out over the economy

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Jeremy Hunt stated BBC Radio 4 presenter Amol Rajan’s characterisation of the economy was “unworthy of the BBC” in a fiery backwards and forwards as the presenter held the chancellor’s ft to the fireplace over the state of public companies.

The alternate occurred simply moments after Mr Rajan dubbed the chancellor a “fiscal drag queen” as he pointed out that taxes have continued to rise since Mr Hunt entered No.11.

Mr Rajan instructed Mr Hunt: “They call you the fiscal drag queen of British politics, don’t they? And with good reason, the net effect of your time in number 11 Is that taxes are still going up. It’s just not going up by as much as they were six months ago, but they’re still going up, aren’t they?

The chancellor then replied: “You talked about fiscal drag. I don’t think I have been called a drag queen before by the way Amol.”

Mr Hunt then misplaced his mood with the presenter after Mr Rajan stated he was “stating facts” as he pointed out that the economy had contracted and public companies are strained.

Addressing the chancellor on theToday programme, the BBC presenter stated:

“We’ve seen seven quarters of GDP per head that’s been revised downwards. We’re hooked on foreign labour. The birth rate is collapsing. Many public services are creaking. Councils are going bust. Those are facts.”

But the chancellor hit again: “I think the characterisation that you’ve just given of the British economy is unworthy of the BBC.”

As the two spoke over each other, Mr Rajan interjected: “The BBC is an organisation with tens of thousands of people who do lots of different things.”

Mr Hunt added: “I’m afraid I don’t share your pessimism.”