Blow to Rachel Reeves as leading businessman suggests recession could be ‘around the corner’

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 A leading British businessman has warned Rachel Reeves that her Budget “spooked business” as he suggested a recession could be “around the corner”. The chancellor Rachel Reeves Labour’s Budget "has spooked business", he said, as he urged the chancellor to “rethink” her decision to increase employer’s national insurance. Talking about the national insurance hike last month, the co-founder of Cobra Beer Lord Bilimoria told Times Radio: “If they can hear, this is not just me. Squaring up to her detractors, she told the CBI conference: “I have heard a lot of feedback about my Budget but not any alternative suggestions.” A Treasury spokesperson said: “With our public services crumbling and an inherited £22bn fiscal black hole, we had to make difficult choices to fix the foundations of the country and restore desperately needed economic stability.