Moment Labour minister is called out in tense GB News row: 'Banging on!'

A Labour minister was taken to task during a live TV interview this morning after he repeatedly highlighted the economic legacy left by the Conservatives.

GB News' host Camilla Tominey called out Labour's James Murray for blaming the Tories for their handling of the public finances.

In a blunt exchange, Ms Tominey said: "How long are you going to be banging on about the legacy you’ve inherited? And when will you start taking responsibility for their own fiscal decisions? Just so our audience can know. Do we have one year of this or two years?"

The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury responded: "I think that's for the general public to decide. But I think everyone acknowledged during the general election campaign what a difficult inheritance we would have thanks to the decisions and failures of the previous government. We want to be honest and upfront about that."

He continued: "When the Chancellor comes to Parliament by the end of the month, she will set out the true state of the public finances that we have inherited.

"I think it is important as a new government to be honest and transparent about the state of the finances and what tough decisions that will entail, while also setting out our plan to get the economy growing and put us in a better position as a country."

Despite the confrontation on-air, Mr Murray again highlighted the economic legacy of the Tories on social media hours later. He tweeted: "We knew we would inherit the worst set of circumstances since the Second World War.

"Everything we have seen since the election confirms that. We will get our country back on track by always putting economic stability, fiscal responsibility, and growth at the heart of what we do."

This comes as Chancellor Rachel Reeves said on Sunday that she wanted to “level” with the public about Britain’s fiscal “mess”.

She told the BBC: “Public services on their knees, a tax burden at a 70-year high, debt almost the same size as our entire economy. It makes me pretty angry that they [the Conservatives] left the country in this sort of state. They’ve left us to pick up the pieces.”

Ms Reeves confirmed that she will give a statement on Labour’s “spending inheritance” at the end of July.

The former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said that Ms Reeves' claims were "nonsense". He predicted that Labour were softening public opinion for a tough autumn Budget and possible tax rises.

He said: “It’s a very transformed picture and I think the reason that she is doing this is that she wants to raise the ground for tax rises. She should have been honest about that before the election.”