British life-style: Is the Chancellor an 'economist'?

Rachel Reeves

The Chancellor Rachel Reeves has edited her online CV after admitting she was not an economist during her time at the Bank of Scotland, writes ‘The Daily Mail’.

The Chancellor deleted 'economist' from her LinkedIn profile work experience and changed it to 'retail banking' during her time at the bank in 2006-9.

The move prompted the Tories to accuse her of 'deception' and brand her 'economical with the truth'.

In her Mansion House speech on Thursday evening, Ms Reeves told guests: 'Before entering politics, I worked as an economist at the Bank of England. And then in financial services.'

Her LinkedIn CV – which had previously said that she was an economist at the Bank of Scotland has now been updated to say she was in 'Retail Banking', the Guido Fawkes political website noted.

It previously reported that she worked in a support department at the Bank of Scotland which managed administration, IT and planning matters.

A Labour source said: 'Ms Reeves worked in retail banking covering various areas drawing on her background as an economist. Her LinkedIn has been updated to reflect that.'

A Tory party source told the Mail: 'It seems Rachel Reeves employment history claims are about as accurate as her promises not to raise taxes on working people – based on deception and increasingly proved false.'

Shadow justice minister Robert Jenrick said: 'Reeves said she was an economist. Turns out she's just economical with the truth.'

Ms Reeves began her career at the Bank of England and worked there between 2000 and 2006, including a secondment in Washington.

She then moved to Leeds to work for the retail arm of Halifax Bank of Scotland before becoming an MP.

She became known as the 'copy and paste chancellor' after she apologised for plagiarising other authors in a book she claimed to have written.

Ms Reeves made much of her experience as an economist ahead of the Budget, saying she would not play fast and loose with public money.

This comes after Ms Reeves was yesterday warned that she was damaging the UK economy as growth slowed to a crawl.

The Chancellor was blamed for the slowdown during her first three months in office, with critics saying she had talked down the economy, leaving businesses and households hesitant to spend.

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