Jeremy Hunt plays down tax cut plans despite lower borrowing than expected

Chancellor says government must not alter course as interest rate rises add to cost of debt

Jeremy Hunt has played down the prospect of pre-election tax cuts despite news that the public finances are in less bad shape than the government's spending watchdog forecast in the spring budget.

Stronger tax receipts from an economy that has so far avoided recession meant the UK's budget deficit stood at 4.3bn last month - the fifth highest for a July since modern records began in 1993 but 1.7bn below the estimate from the Office for Budget Responsibility.