Mandelson: Business leaders 'tricked' by Tories
Lord Mandelson has claimed the Conservatives 'tricked' some of the UK's biggest business names into signing a letter backing the Tory plan for National Insurance if they come to power.
The Labour plans involve a 1% rise on NI for employers, sparking claims of a Labour 'tax on jobs', which the Tories say they would reverse if they win the election.
EasyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou and Marks & Spencer executive chairman were among the 23 business leaders to sign a letter backing the Tory promise to reverse the government's planned 1% NI increase for anyone earning less than £45,400 a year.
David Cameron called the letter, which said the Labour action would "endanger" the economy and be a "tax on jobs", a "significant" moment in the election campaign.
But the business secretary today lashed out at the Tories saying the gathering of business support involved a "cynical deception" because it could not be achieving without raising VAT.
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