Jeremy Hunt refuses to tell Robert Peston how many homes he owns in TV clash

Jeremy Hunt has refused to say how many homes he owns after he announced a tax break for landlords in the Budget.

The Chancellor has slashed the top rate of capital gains tax on property sales from 28% to 24%. It will cut the tax bill for people with multiple homes if they choose to sell up.

There are 80 Conservative MPs who are landlords of properties in the UK who would potentially benefit. They include Cabinet ministers Gillian Keegan, Lucy Frazer and Claire Coutinho.

As he appeared on ITV’s Peston programme, Mr Hunt refused to answer questions on how many properties he owns. “These are personal questions,” he told presenter Robert Peston. When pushed, Mr Hunt said: “We declare all these things.”

Jeremy Hunt would not say how many homes he owns as he appeared on ITV’s Peston

According to the register of interests, the Chancellor is a landlord with seven apartments in Southampton, a half-share in an office building in London and a half-share in a holiday home in Italy. It is not known what other properties he owns.

Mr Hunt said he would not be better off thanks to the cut to capital gains tax. He told Peston: “In fact I won’t benefit from the CGT change because I took that decision and I’ve decided that when it comes to properties I own, it would be wrong for me to benefit from a direct decision like that. So I will pay tax at the previous rate.”

The Treasury said the cut to capital gains tax will “encourage landlords and second home-owners to sell their properties, making more available for a variety of buyers including those looking to get on the housing ladder for the first time”.

In a separate interview with BBC Radio 4, Mr Hunt lost his cool after he was accused of failing to turn the economy around. Presenter Amol Rajan said: “This might be one of your last big acts in politics. Do you really think you’ve met the moment? This is a country ravaged by economic shocks – at best drifting, at worst, stagnant.

“We all know about its potential, but we’ve had seven quarters of falling GDP per head. That’s been revised downwards. We’re hooked on foreign labour, the birth rate is collapsing, many public services are creaking, councils are going bust. Those are facts. Has your budget really come even close to meeting the scale of the challenges this country faces?”

Mr Hunt hit back, saying: “I think the overall characterisation you’ve just given of the British economy is unworthy of the BBC.”