Osborne: I will continue to take 'difficult decisions' after tax credits U-turn

Chancellor makes clear he is not abandoning his overall approach to eliminate structural budget deficit two years before 2020 election

George Osborne has said he will continue to take "difficult decisions" after he embarked on a spectacular U-turn on his planned tax credits cuts and to spare frontline policing from severe austerity.

The chancellor said he would continue to cut day-to-day government spending and the welfare budget as he seeks to adopt an "inherently cautious approach" to deliver an overall budget surplus of 10.1bn by 2019-20.

Related: George Osborne scraps tax credit cuts in welfare U-turn