Boris Johnson's newly-appointed policy guru today claimed there was a growing case for public spending cuts.

Anthony Browne also advised David Cameron to dish out any "painful medicine" to deal with the economic situation soon after arriving at No10 if he wins the next general election.

Mr Browne, currently director of think-tank Policy Exchange, warned that the Tories would inherit a state "teetering on bankruptcy", leaving them in no position to cut taxes to boost the economy. "They could help balance the books by cutting public spending, but that would be very unpopular (although the politics of that appear to be changing fast)," he added in an online article for the Guardian.

"Alternatively, they could raise taxes, but the public are already fed up with how much they give to the Government. After a decade of unprecedented increases in public spending, there are no easy alternatives left," added Mr Browne who is to become the Mayor's policy director later this autumn.

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