The best moment of the coalition's third Budget turned out to not to come from a politician in the Commons, rather it came from a journalist covering the day's events.

Camped outside No.11 Downing, Street, the BBC's chief political correspondent Norman Smith popped up on the air to explain to viewers how David Cameron hoped his MPs would spin the Budget once it had been delivered.

According to Smith, the prime minister was anxious that not all of the media's coverage focused on the decision to cut the top rate of tax.

"The government doesn't want the headlines we take from this Budget to be about the rich," he said.

He said Cameron wanted people to instead "focus on the values" in the Budget rather than getting "bogged down in the details" such as the 50p rate.

"It's a bit like that old Basil Fawlty sketch isn't it," he observed. "Don't mention ze war," he added in a comedy German accent.