Letter:Treasury `war chest'

Sir: Gavyn Davies (column, 15 December) suggests that Liberal Democrat figures showing that Gordon Brown is piling up a pre-election cash "war chest" are "just pie in the sky".

Mr Davies was present when expert advisers gave evidence to the Treasury Select Committee. Among them was Andrew Dilnot, of the widely respected Institute for Fiscal Studies, who agreed that the Government's Budget figures had left out the revenues from abolishing advanced corporation tax (pounds 7.7bn), and that the VAT assumptions being made were "very, very cautious". Mr Dilnot concluded that: "At every possible point, I think the Government has quite deliberately taken a cautious stance [with its borrowing forecasts]."

MALCOLM BRUCE MP

Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesman

House of Commons

London SW1