The prime minister faced questions about his approach after the Treasury disputed that Chancellor John Healey had suggested to the BBC that the benefits bill will be cut before the next election, which must be held by August 2029.

When Healey was asked by the Today Programme on Radio 4 whether there would be a cut in the bill before polling day, he said: "There will be, there will be a reduction in the benefits bill, we'll do that in a Labour way."

But several Treasury sources took issue with this being interpreted as a promise to do so by the next election.…