Rishi Sunak gave another strong hint at ÀǶ⠺︺¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ës for the Áªµó today as he ¼çÄ¥¤¹¤ëd the À¯ÉÜ can ¾å¤²¤ë defence spending and ´ËϤ¹¤ë the °µÎÏ on ϫƯ¼Ôs.

On a visit to Berlin, the PM argued that ºï½ü¤¹¤ëing civil service numbers would ²òÊü¤¹¤ë¡¿¼«Í³¤Ê up money for his Í¥Àès.

He ¼çÄ¥¤¹¤ëd the ·×²è¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ës to ¹¶·â¤¹¤ë¡¤¾×Æͤ¹¤ë 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence are 'fully ´ð¶âd' and he will still be able to 'Åê»ñ¤¹¤ë in public services and ºï¸º¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë people's ÀǶâs'.

The comments ¡Êµ¡¤Î¡Ë¥«¥à ¤Þ¤Ã¤¿¤ÀÃæ¤Ë Tory ¿À·Ðs over whether ¡Ê¥É¥¤¥Ä¤Ê¤É¤Î¡Ë¼óÁê¡¿¡ÊÂç³Ø¤Î¡Ë³ØĹ Jeremy ÄÉÀסʤ¹¤ë¡Ë will be able to ȯɽ¤¹¤ë more ÀǶâ ÍÞÀ©¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ës before the country goes to the Åêɼs.

Many MPs are pinning their hopes on the move as a way to À¸¤­Ê֤餻¤ë the party's prospects of staying in ÎÏ¡¿¶¯ÎϤˤ¹¤ë.?

Rishi Sunak gave another strong hint at tax cuts for the election today as he insisted the government can boost defence spending and ease the pressure on workers

Rishi Sunak gave another strong hint at ÀǶ⠺︺¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ës for the Áªµó today as he ¼çÄ¥¤¹¤ëd the À¯ÉÜ can ¾å¤²¤ë defence spending and ´ËϤ¹¤ë the °µÎÏ on ϫƯ¼Ôs

Mr Johnson repeated his view that the tax burden will not come down to pre-Covid levels 'in my lifetime', despite Jeremy Hunt's claim that he had put the country on track for lower taxes

Mr Johnson repeated his ¸«²ò¡Ê¤ò¤È¤ë¡Ë that the ÀǶ⠽Ų١ʤòÉé¤ï¤»¤ë¡Ë will not come É餫¤¹¡¿·âÄƤ¹¤ë to pre-Covid levels 'in my lifetime', ¤Ë¤â¤«¤«¤ï¤é¤º Jeremy ÄÉÀסʤ¹¤ë¡Ë's ¡Ê¿ÍÌ¿¤Ê¤É¤ò¡ËÃ¥¤¦¡¤¼çÄ¥¤¹¤ë that he had put the country on Àפò¤Ä¤±¤ë for lower ÀǶâs

Mr Sunak chatting to military personnel inside a Boxer armoured vehicle in Berlin today

Mr Sunak chatting to ·³¤Î ¿¦°÷¡¿Ê¼°÷ inside a Boxer armoured ¾è¤êʪ in Berlin today?

Asked by ÊüÁ÷¼Ôs whether prioritising defence would ¾×·â other ¤«¤«¤ï¤ê¹ç¤¤s, Mr Sunak ¼çÄ¥¤¹¤ëd there was 'µ­Ï¿¡¤µ­Ï¿Åª¤Ê¡¿µ­Ï¿¤¹¤ë Åê»ñ in our public services'.

He Äɲ乤ëd: 'We have made a choice and I am not shying away from that choice. All ¼£¤á¤ë¡¿Åý¼£¤¹¤ëing is about prioritising. I have decided to prioritise defence because I think that is the ¸¢Íø thing to do for our country.

'I am not going to get into Îá¾õing the next manifesto here and now, but what I am ³Î¿®¤·¤Æ about is that if you have a strong ·×²è¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë for the economy as we have and that ·×²è¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë is working, we stick to that ·×²è¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë we will be able to continue Áý²Ã¤¹¤ëing defence spending.

'It is a ´°Á´¤Ë ´ð¶âd ·×²è¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë. We have got a very ¡Êµ¿¤¤¤ò¡ËÀ²¤é¤¹ idea of how to ¸º¤º¤ë civil service headcount which has grown ¤«¤Ê¤ê over the last few years, and we can bring that »Ù±ç¤¹¤ë and use that to ´ð¶â what I ȯɽ¤¹¤ëd yesterday.

'And ¤È°ì½ï¤Ë that, continue to Åê»ñ¤¹¤ë in public services and ºï¸º¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë people's ÀǶâs.'

Fresh µ¿Ìäs were cast on Âç¿Ãs' room for manoeuvre yesterday with ¿Íʪ¡¿»Ñ¡¿¿ô»ús showing À¯ÉÜ borrowing coming in above ͽ¬¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ës.

The public ÉôÌç was ¡ò120.7billion in the red in the year to March, ¤¤¤Ã¤½¤¦¾¯¤Ê¤¯ than the previous 12 months but ¡ò6.6billion more than ͽÊ󤹤ëd by the ºâ̳¾Ê ´Æ»ë¼Ô.

Borrowing was ¡ò11.9billion in March, which is ¡ò4.7billion ¤¤¤Ã¤½¤¦¾¯¤Ê¤¯ than a year ago, but higher than the ¡ò10billion ¿äÄꤹ¤ë¡¿Í½ÁÛ¤¹¤ëd by most ·ÐºÑ³Ø¼Ôs.

There was brighter news in the closely-watched PMI, which showed the »äŪ¤Ê ÉôÌç growing at its fastest Ψ for almost a year.

The?reading was 54 in April, up from 52.8 in March - with anything above 50 Âåɽ¤¹¤ëing ³ÈÂç.

ONS figures released yesterday showed the public sector ¡ò120.7billion in the red in the year to March, less than the previous 12 months but ¡ò6.6billion more than predicted by the Treasury watchdog

ONS ¿Íʪ¡¿»Ñ¡¿¿ô»ús ²òÊü¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ëd yesterday showed the public ÉôÌç ¡ò120.7billion in the red in the year to March, ¤¤¤Ã¤½¤¦¾¯¤Ê¤¯ than the previous 12 months but ¡ò6.6billion more than ͽÊ󤹤ëd by the ºâ̳¾Ê ´Æ»ë¼Ô