David Dimbleby says fallout of mini-budget is 'complete s**t-storm'

Moment BBC veteran David Dimbleby describes the fallout of Chancellor’s ‘mini-budget’ as a ‘complete s**t-storm’: Ex-Question Time host drops rare on-air expletive during podcast

• Veteran broadcaster David Dimbleby discussed UK’s economic turmoil with BBC
• He dropped a rare on-air expletive as he talked about the mini-budget
• The former Question Time host, 83, said it was a ‘complete s**t-storm’

Veteran broadcaster David Dimbleby dropped a rare on-air expletive as he discussed the UK’s economic turmoil with BBC podcast Newscast. 

The former Question Time host, 83, said the ‘massive change’ announced by the Government at a time when members of the public were being forced to make tough decisions was ‘a complete s**-storm’.

In last week’s ‘mini-budget’ the Chancellor said the top rate of income tax, the 45% rate for earnings over £150,000, would be abolished altogether. Kwasi Kwarteng also confirmed plans to get rid of the cap on bankers’ bonuses.

The tax-cutting package caused the pound to nosedive against the US dollar – which led to an unprecedented Bank of England intervention and sterling corporate bond prices headed for their biggest monthly fall since the 1990s. 

It fuelled fears of rocketing mortgage bills, caused lenders to withdraw offers and sent the cost of government borrowing soaring – all amid a crippling cost of living crisis, which has seen fuel, energy and food bills soar. 

‘It just seems extraordinary and I mean, it is a complete s***-storm for people who are actually trying to sell abroad or back here,’ Dimbleby told Newscast.

Host Adam Fleming told him: ‘you’ve definitely left the BBC haven’t you’ while co-host Jo Coburn reassured listeners it was after the 9pm UK watershed.

Veteran broadcaster David Dimbleby discussed the UK’s economic turmoil with BBC podcast Newscast – and dropped a rare on-air expletive

‘It just seems extraordinary and I mean, it is a complete s***-storm for people who are actually trying to sell abroad or back here,’ Dimbleby told Newscast

Host Adam Fleming told him: ‘you’ve definitely left the BBC haven’t you’ while co-host Jo Coburn reassured listeners it was after the 9pm UK watershed

The remark came less than a fortnight after Dimbleby came out of retirement to front the BBC’s coverage of the Queen’s committal at Windsor Castle.

During Thursday’s episode of the podcast, Fleming told him: ‘I should make clear, you don’t work for the BBC, you can speak really freely.’

‘I do think it is extraordinary. I thought that the victory was interesting, Liz Truss becoming Prime Minister,’ Dimbleby responded.

‘We knew her quite well on Question Time over the years and it was quite an eye opener when she became Prime Minister.

‘But I haven’t seen anything quite so melodramatic as this.

‘I think it stands up because I think what Kwasi Kwarteng announced was a massive change.

‘This 45% tax dropping to 40 suddenly, at a time when people are actually already deciding whether to buy a pullover and not turn the heating on… We can’t have hot meals and heat our houses at the same time and all that’s going on.’

Dimbleby retired from Question Time in 2018, handing the reins to Fiona Bruce.

Since then he has helped produce a number of BBC programmes before his involvement in the Queen’s state funeral – following in the footsteps of his father Richard Dimbleby.

Dimbleby´s outspoken remarks come less than a fortnight after he came out of retirement to front the BBC´s coverage of the Queen´s committal at Windsor Castle (Ian West/PA)

His comments came as under-fire Liz Truss vowed to press ahead with her ‘controversial and difficult’ economic plans – despite growing Tory warnings that the financial fallout from her ‘mini-Budget’ could hand Keir Starmer’s Labour the next election.

During a bruising round of local BBC radio interviews, the Prime Minister was repeatedly pressed to defend last week’s ‘Emergency Budget’, which spooked financial markets and sparked a Sterling crisis that led to an unprecedented Bank of England intervention in the economy.

The Bank launched an emergency government bond-buying programme on Wednesday to prevent borrowing costs from spiralling out of control and stave off a ‘material risk to UK financial stability’. 

It bought up to £65 billion worth of government bonds – known as gilts – at an ‘urgent pace’ after fears over the Government’s tax-cutting plans sent the pound tumbling and sparked a sell-off in the gilts market, which left some UK pension funds teetering on the brink of collapse. 

First time buyers are struggling to afford mortgages as lenders withdraw offers in the wake of the government’s mini budget, as at least 1,600 products have been withdrawn from the market since last week. 

Ms Truss acknowledged that many of the decisions made were ‘controversial’ but said she had the ‘right plan’ for the economy.

Conservative MPs are demanding that Ms Truss and Mr Kwarteng urgently bring forward the Government’s planned financial statement setting out how they intend to get the public finances back on track from November 23 to late October, or even earlier – after a shock poll last night gave the Labour Party a massive 33-point lead over the Tories.

Conservative MPs are demanding that Ms Truss and Mr Kwarteng urgently bring forward the Government’s planned financial statement setting out how they intend to get the public finances back on track

The YouGov survey put the Opposition on 54%, with the Tories trailing on just 21 – the biggest gap between the parties since the 1990s. Support for the Conservatives has dropped by seven points in just four days after last week’s tax-cutting mini-Budget triggered market turmoil and paved the way for further interest rate rises.

It comes as figures released show two-thirds of UK adults have seen their cost of living jump over the past month as energy bills soared and price rises filtered down to supermarket shelves.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that 66% of adults surveyed saw their cost of living increase.

Its household survey found that of those who saw their cost of living rise, 87% of people reported increasing food shop prices, while 79% cited rising energy bills.

The poll – carried out between January 6 to 16 – showed nearly three-quarters (71%) said increases in the price of fuel had also driven up the cost of living.

It comes after official figures on Wednesday showed that inflation soared to a near 30-year high of 5.4% in December.

The leap came as households faced surging food prices on top of sky-high energy and fuel bills.

Experts have warned that the cost-of-living squeeze will get even tighter over the next few months as gas and electricity tariffs are expected to rise by around 50% in April.

The Bank of England raised interest rates from 0.1% to 0.25% last month as it said inflation would hit 6% in the spring – and more increases are expected to rein in rising prices.

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