Budget 2024: Keir Starmer wrongly announces five new freeports in comms ‘cock-up’

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Sir Keir Starmer mistakenly announced that Rachel Reeves would unveil five new freeports in Wednesday’s Budget, in what officials have reportedly dubbed a “total cock-up”. The prime minister told reporters that while freeports were a scheme inherited by the new Labour government, it plans to “maximise their potential”, saying they would “have this government’s stamp on them”. A press release accompanying the announcement claimed Ms Reeves would announce “five new freeports as part of the government’s package of measures to fix the foundations and rebuild the country”. While freeports can exist as a physical piece of infrastructure without customs sites, government sources told The Independent they do not class them as “operational” until they have designated tax and customs sites.