UK rejects EU calls for more fiscal cuts

The British Government rejected yesterday calls by the European Commission for it to do more to cut its ballooning budget deficit in the medium term, saying such action would damage public services.

"We think the EU has got the judgement wrong," Treasury Chief Secretary Liam Byrne told BBC radio.

"We think the plan that they've set out would require us to take something like £20 billion (Dh110.59bn) more out of the economy by 2014-15 and we think that would do irreparable damage to public services or to taxpayers."

Byrne was respnding to a a draft from the EU executive obtained by Reuters which said Britain's fiscal programme failed to guarantee it would meet an EU deadline of 2014-15 for cutting the deficit to below the bloc's cap of three per cent of economic output..

Opposition business spokesman Ken Clarke said action was needed now to stsrt cutting the deficit.

"What has to be done now is to get this debt rapidly under control and get the bulk of the structural deficit, get rid of it during the next parliament and I also think one needs to start now," Clarke told the same radio programme.

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