PHILIP Hammond and Theresa May underlined the chaos at the top of the government today by publicly contradicting each other over whether a no-deal Brexit would lead to the Budget being scrapped.

Just hours before the Chancellor’s speech to the Commons, the Prime Minister dismissed his claims that he would be forced to draw up a new Budget if she failed to reach agreement with the European Union on the terms of Britain’s withdrawal.

In a further example of discord between the Downing Street neighbours, she upstaged him by revealing much of the funds available to Mr Hammond before his Budget announcement.

Prior to his last Budget announcement before Britain’s scheduled departure from the EU next March, Mr Hammond said: “Frankly, we’d need to have a new Budget” if there was no Brexit deal.

He also refused to guarantee the “end of austerity” in that event, despite Ms May having already declared it over.

Ms May’s spokesman rejected Mr Hammond’s statement, insisting that every pledge in the Budget, including £8.4 billion for the NHS over the next five years, which Ms May had already announced in the summer, will be kept even if there is a no-deal Brexit.

He said: “All spending commitments that the Chancellor is going to outline today are funded, irrespective of a Brexit deal.”

The PM’s spokesman also insisted that the “end of austerity” was still part of the government’s plan.

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell tweeted: “What is going on? The PM and The Chancellor contradicting each other. On the day of the Budget. We’ve never seen anything like this.”

Stewart Wood, a former aide to ex-Labour leader Ed Miliband, said: “Trying to remember the last time there was a rift on Budget Day between the Prime Minister and the Chancellor, on the question of whether the Budget is an actual Budget or one that is conditional on later events. Trying, and failing.”

A Labour spokeswoman said: “Tory Budgets are usually plunged into chaos after the Chancellor sits down, not before he even stands up. This is confusion on a scale surprising even for this government.”

Later in the day, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said in his response to the Budget: “It’s very clear that if they can’t agree a good deal with the EU, it’s because they can’t agree among themselves.”

Lamiat Sabin is the Morning Star’s Parliamentary Reporter.