Sir Keir Starmer has branded Rishi Sunak a liar and claimed he had broken the ministerial code for suggesting Labour planned to hike taxes by more than £2,000. The prime minister repeatedly highlighted the allegation during his ITV head-to-head debate with Sir Keir on Tuesday (4 June), claiming “independent Treasury officials” have costed Labour’s policies “and they amount to a £2,000 tax rise for everyone”. But the Treasury’s permanent secretary, James Bowler, said ministers had been told not to suggest civil servants produced the figure at the heart of the Tory attack. Sir Keir today said: “What you saw last night was a Prime Minister with his back against the wall, desperately trying to defend 14 years of failure, resorting – and it was a flash of his character, an insight into his character – to lies. I don’t say that lightly.”