Brown spends £2.7bn to end revolt

Gordon Brown unveiled a surprise £2.7bn package of tax cuts yesterday in a bid to end the divisive row over the abolition of the 10p tax rate. The emergency mini-budget saw the Government borrow £2.7bn to give 22m basic rate taxpayers an extra £120 a year, and attempt to compensate most of the 5m affected by the tax band's abolition. It is the first time that income tax has been amended within a financial year.