ANXIOUS Labour ministers have started appealing to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to protect them from the ferocious spending cuts being demanded by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

Panic is spreading as the October 30 Budget announcement approaches and Ms Reeves struggles to close a “black hole” that appears to expand with every retelling.

Several ministers, mainly from the Cabinet’s social-democratic wing, have protested to Downing Street about the spending reductions that the Treasury is demanding.