A row has broken out in the UK over the Conservative Party's claims about Labour's spending plans.
Ahead of next month's general election, the Tories have claimed Labour's various policy pledges would cost £1.2 trillion over five years to implement.
The figure - based on the opposition party's 2017 manifesto and subsequent promises - was featured prominently on the front pages of several UK newspapers this morning.
However, Labour has yet to decide on which policies and plans will ultimately be included in their election manifesto.
Labour's John McDonnell called the Conservatives' costing estimate a "ludicrous piece of Tory fake news".
He argued: "[It] is an incompetent mish-mash of debunked estimates and bad maths cooked up because they know Labour’s plans for real change are popular.
"The Conservatives will be able to read all about these plans – and how much they actually cost – when we publish our fully costed manifesto."
Appearing on Sky News' Sophy Ridge on Sunday, the UK business minister Kwasi Kwarteng defended the figures - claiming Labour's plans were "reckless and unaffordable".
"I'm not going to bandy around figures."
Business Minister @KwasiKwarteng says Labour's spending plans are "reckless and unaffordable".
But he won't say how much Conservative spending plans add up to.
Follow #Ridge live 👉 https://t.co/qplpD1wUuK pic.twitter.com/orNVEXI7FX— Sophy Ridge on Sunday & The Take (@RidgeOnSunday) November 10, 2019
However, he repeatedly refused to put a figure on his own party's spending plans - claiming he wasn't going to "bandy around figures".
Instead, the minister repeatedly pointed to his own party's infrastructure plans - adding that "our sums are not anything as astronomical and huge as the Labour sums".
