Osborne attacks BBC coverage of spending cuts

George Osborne has criticised BBC coverage of future spending cuts as "totally hyperbolic" in a Radio 4 interview following his Autumn Statement.

The chancellor told Today presenter John Humphrys that arguments made against cuts in 2010 had been wrong.

Forecasters predict public spending will fall to levels not seen since the 1930s, suggesting the loss of one million public sector jobs by 2020.

Challenged that he would have to make "staggering cuts" to public services, Mr Osborne insisted he could achieve his aims through a "balanced package" of savings and freezes.