Tories blocked from using Treasury to attack Labour plans
by Richard Partington Economics correspondent from Economics | The Guardian on (#4TQ0G)
U-turn is an 'embarrassing slapdown to Tory ministers', Labour says
Conservative plans to use the civil service to rubbish Labour's spending plans have been scuppered after the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, argued with senior civil servants that it would breach impartiality rules.
Forcing a dramatic climbdown before the general election, Britain's highest-ranking civil servant, Mark Sedwill, ruled that the publication of Treasury analysis with only weeks to go before the 12 December poll would be improper.
Related: 'Brexit has brought civil servants a barrage of unfair criticism'
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