'Clueless' Johnson NI slip-up - The Sun

GAFFE-prone Alan Johnson made another howler yesterday - when he did not know the current National Insurance rate.

The shadow chancellor said employers' NI contributions had gone up one per cent to 21 per cent.

The correct figure is 12.8 per cent.

Lib Dem Stephen Williams said: "Britain is facing the highest debt levels in peace-time history, yet we have a Labour Party that's clueless on basic economics. Alan Johnson is fast becoming an embarrassment."

Other recent blunders saw Mr Johnson forget the date when Labour would eliminate the structural budget deficit.

He also said 2011 would see "jobs and growth" - although Labour's planned cuts would have hit this year. And he suggested he had not read his party's last Budget in full.

Tory MP Matthew Hancock said: "Labour's threadbare credibility took another dive."

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