UNIONS, MPs and campaigners reacted with fury after the Treasury backed plans to slash billions from welfare spending in an “outrageous attack” on the poorest.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves was today urged to tax the rich instead after government sources said the cuts were necessary as the “world has changed” since her autumn budget.

The furore was sparked after an early draft of Budget watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) forecast was leaked to the BBC.