Treasury minister will not join Budget pictures due to agoraphobia

Chief secretary to the Treasury Simon Clarke has said he will not be snapped with the Chancellor as part of the conventional pre-Budget photographs in Downing Street as he suffers from agoraphobia.

The MP for Middlesbrough South said today via Twitter that the condition “prevents me being comfortable in some open spaces – but will be busy in Parliament and out in the country.”

He said he was “Really looking forward to explaining the Budget and SR alongside the Chancellor.”