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10:51

Today’s Budget will confirm that Britain is suffering its worst economic downturn since the Second World War, opposition parties have predicted. Conservative leader David Cameron said that the Budget would prove "the day of reckoning" for Labour, with "dreadful" figures showing that the Government's attempt to spend its way out of recession was not working and a change of direction was needed.

10:57

Ahead of his crucial Budget speech, Chancellor Alistair Darling has joined Prime Minister Gordon Brown on a visit to a BT telephone exchange in Muswell Hill, London, where apprentices are updating the latest broadband technology. Mr Darling has faced calls from industry leaders to boost investment in high-tech companies so Britain is well-placed once the global downturn comes to an end.

10:58

11:28

Bemused Government workers have had to step around a "black hole" which appeared outside the Treasury. The chalk-drawn street art was courtesy of the Conservatives, and featured caricatures of Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Chancellor Alistair Darling disappearing down a cavernous gap in the pavement followed by Mr Darling's red Budget box. The stunt was designed to highlight what the Tories say is a "black hole" in the country's finances created by Labour's unprecedented levels of borrowing.

11:32

11:32

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the Budget will “prioritise growth and jobs and invest in the new economy of the future”. Chancellor Alistair Darling told fellow ministers at a Cabinet meeting in 10 Downing Street that the economic downturn was “unprecedented” since the Second World War and was affecting every country in the world.

11:33

BUDGET FACT: The word "budget" comes from the French "bougette", a little bag, which explains why the Chancellor "opens" his Budget.

11:36

11:36

Chancellor Alistair Darling has left 11 Downing Street with his red Budget box prior to delivering his Budget speech from the despatch box in the House of Commons

11:43

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