Jeremy Hunt plays down talk of spring budget tax cut after IMF warning

Chancellor says less room now for giveaway in March despite being widely thought to be gearing up for cuts

The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has said there will be less room for tax cuts in the spring budget next month, just days after the International Monetary Fund warned that the UK needed to focus on repairing its public finances.

Hunt, who in November announced he was cutting the main rate of national insurance contributions paid by employees from 12% to 10%, was widely believed to be gearing up for another tax giveaway after dropping a series of hints about what could be the Conservatives' last budget before a general election.