John Healey, the Chancellor, has rejected reports that he promised to cut the benefits bill before the next general election. Speaking on BBC Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg on 1 November, he said the reporting earlier in the week was "simply wrong".
"We've set out the timetable for changes. We've never set out the timetable for savings, and some of the reporting earlier in the week was simply wrong."
Until now only the Treasury and No 10 had disputed the reports. The Independent says reports of cuts starting before July 2029 led No 10 to call them an incorrect interpretation of his reply.
Mr Healey said the bill would still fall, with changes starting next year:
"The overall bill will come down under Labour. We'll start the changes next year, and we'll bring that bill down."
His account fits the record. The words the BBC quoted from his Thursday interview gave no date and did not mention the election.
He also said that "since the election, we've already slowed down the rate of increase in the benefits bill". That claim has not been independently checked.
Reports say he made no mention of benefit cuts in the Budget itself. The Resolution Foundation's Budget note says working-age health and disability benefits and pensioner benefits each account for about £37bn of the rise in welfare spending since the pandemic.