Rachel Reeves has been accused of misleading the public after a watchdog ruled she “should have been clearer” about the impact of her tax plans. The rebuke from the UK Statistics Authority came after the Chancellor pledged to cut business rates to their lowest rates since 1991 for 750,000 businesses in leisure, retail and hospitality.

But the rise in rates and unwinding of Covid pandemic support announced in the Budget last November actually put thousands of pubs at risk of going under. A furious backlash subsequently forced the Government into pledging extra financial help for struggling watering holes.

The Conservative Party, after the Budget, complained to the Office for Statistics Regulation, an arm of the UKSA, that Ms Reeves’ claims were “statistically misleading”.

But Ms Reeves now faces humiliation after the UKSA said there were “opportunities for improvements to be made to support understanding of the data and avoid the potential for people to be misled”.

Shadow Communities Secretary, Sir James Cleverly, said the Tories had exposed Labour gaslighting. He said Ms Reeves and her colleagues “intentionally misled” the public and businesses.

To calculate a pub’s business rate, business owners multiply their premises’ estimated rental value by a tax rate, known as a multiplier.

Ms Reeves set the multiplier at 38.2% in the Budget for the next financial year for small businesses in hospitality, leisure and retail.

The move was presented as a tax cut by the Government, but a rise in estimated rental values in April will increase bills for some pubs even though the multiplier was set at its lowest level since 1991.

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In a letter seen by the Daily Express, the UKSA said its assessment was that it was “correct” to say the new multiplier rates are lower.

However, the UKSA said business rates overall “are likely to rise” for many businesses in hospitality, leisure and retail because of changes to rental values due in April.

The UKSA said its findings had been shared with the Treasury and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to ensure its expectations for transparent communication are met in future statistics announcements.

A Treasury spokesman said: “The Chancellor stated at the Budget that tax rates for the smallest retail, hospitality and leisure properties would be their lowest since 1991 – this is categorically true thanks in part to the 5p cut for 750,000 eligible properties.

“With Covid support ending and valuations rising, some firms may face higher costs – so we have also stepped in to cap bills and help businesses as part of a £4.3billion support package.”