Philip Hammond said UK output would grow faster than in most EU countries, creating half a million jobs. He vowed to spend billions to boost productivity, build homes and improve transport.

As Hammond speeches go, the Autumn Statement was short and reasonably un-glum. He kept it to 45 minutes. By his own morose standards he was almost skittishly optimistic in places.

Philip Hammond said Britain’s ‘productivity gap’ was ‘well known, but shocking nonetheless’. He told the House of Commons that the UK ‘lags behind’ the US and Germany by 30 per cent.

Hammond has backed recent HMRC proposals for a crackdown on using the loophole for smartphone and gym contracts, buying cars and TVs, or private medical insurance.

The OBR forecast a £122billion rise in UK debt, with £58.7billion blamed on Brexit. That came as it said the UK would not fall into a recession, but growth would be lower.

The Chancellor said the government was treating the estimates from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) as a 'signal' of what might happen.

Five million higher earners will be hit by a £200 'stealth tax on Middle England' because of changes to National Insurance Contributions buried in Treasury documents.

It was not the kind of Autumn Statement we had come to expect under George Osborne – all fire and brimstone – but Philip Hammond’s debut was not without its nasty side.

Former health secretary Stephen Dorrell, who is now chairman of the NHS Confederation, said Philip Hammond (shown) had made a ‘mistake’ by failing to find extra funds in last week’s autumn statement.

The 26-year-old is due to have a medical ahead of signing a three year contract with the Championship side.

While 2019 has proved to be one of the finest years of sporting achievement in living memory, it has also provided a few less stellar moments on and off the field.

A bumper set of FA Cup fixtures continues on Saturday evening with five 5.31pm kick-offs taking place. Follow all the action across the five matches HERE via Sportsmail's SAM MCEVOY.

Cardiff City are expected to make an improved bid for Wigan Athletic striker Kieffer Moore. An offer of £2.3million was rejected last week but Moore was left out of Wigan's squad against Bristol City.

Wigan defender Antonee Robinson has revealed he needs a medical procedure to correct an irregular heart rhythm before he can play again.

British Airways has been accused of acting like a 'budget airline without the cheap prices' after refusing a bottle of water to a 33-year-old mother who was breastfeeding her baby.

In the race to be named the most popular family package holiday destination, Tenerife has come out on top for the second year running, according to TravelSupermarket.

Most of us have friends who collect travel points - or 'miles' - and shame us with boasts of cheap flights in business class when we have paid full whack for economy.

Holidaymakers should first check whether their credit and debit cards can be used abroad for spending and withdrawing money from ATMs without extra charges.

Although the Christmas decorations have only just been put away for another year, many families' attentions have already turned to booking a holiday.

They are two airports, in the same county, with the same holiday money company offering to change your pounds into foreign currency.

BA has a number of bonus partner offers which allow travellers to bag more Avios points without spending more than you usually would when sorting out your holiday.

Sterling's increasingly rocky ride means holidaymakers should brace themselves for a bill of possibly hundreds of pounds on top of the amount already paid for a package deal this autumn.

With political rows and the on-off threat of a no-deal Brexit, there's no guarantee what could happen to the pound between now and 31 October - or after that date.

Poor exchange rates are leaving travellers in a panic, resorting to buying currency at the airport. But the Mail on Sunday found holidaymakers would be better off packing their bank debit cards instead.

Travellers could find themselves a European bargain in Shannon, Frankfurt and Malaga among other locations, according to data from Skyscanner.

If you were planning a relaxing gondola ride around the canals of Venice or a luxury cruise in the next few months, it is safe to say that your dream holiday is looking a lot less idylic now.

Millions have had holidays ruined after the virus outbreak sent the world into lockdown. Newlyweds Ricky and Victoria Lipman were told they must pay an extra £750 to rebook their dream honeymoon.

Robyn Ranford, 22, (right) from London, lost her mother to breast cancer (pictured together left). Her father told her not to worry about any hereditary risk as her 'mum' was not her biological mother.

Erika Zak lost her battle with colon cancer, even when a much-needed liver transplant had just come through to try and save her life. Her death came after she spent the last five years battling the cancer.

Australian fashion designer Camilla Franks will have her ovaries removed after being diagnosed with stage three breast cancer just months after giving birth to her daughter in 2018.

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT - The 37-year-old Perth father had a 40cm chunk of his neck gauged out (pictured) in an effort to remove deadly melanoma.

Hannah Toohill, from Dingwall in Scotland, began experiencing crippling back and chest pain four months into her pregnancy before she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

Stars including model Iskra Lawrence and actress Jameela Jamil have taken to social media to pay homage to Mama Cax, whose real name is Cacsmy Brutus, after she passed away on Monday.

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT: The horn was the result of a common cancer called a squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Doctors in Chester removed it and covered the hole with a skin graft.

A computer algorithm developed by British and U.S. scientists can help diagnose breast cancer more accurately than trained doctors, according to new research.

Taylor Wind, 19, is one of 191 people in Mooresville, North Carolina, who were diagnosed with thyroid cancer between 2012 and 2016. which her mother believes is linked to coal ash from a nearby plant.

Doctors in the UK have for years been using CAR T-cell therapy to make some immune cells directly target tumour cells in blood cancer patients. But exactly how this process worked was a mystery.

Rates of skin cancer were 8.1 - 8.4 per cent among gay and bisexual men compared to 6.7 for straight men in a group of more than 45,000 Americans.

Debbie Lees, now 61, left her comfortable family life in Manchester behind to work in Corfu as a travel rep, but soon after arriving, she found a lump in her breast, and was diagnosed with cancer.

It appears that Erin Molan may be subconsciously taking fashion tips from the tennis stars playing at the Australian Open

MIKE DICKSON IN MELBOURNE: The 23 year-old at least offered some defiance before she was beaten 6-2 6-4 by Wimbledon champion Simona Halep on a blustery Rod Laver Arena

The Australian 23rd seed dominated the first two sets of his encounter with Frenchman Gilles Simon, with a jovial Kyrgios putting on a show for the Melbourne Arena crowd.

While she would have been hoping to bow out in a blaze of glory, Wozniacki insisted she was proud of her career and had no regrets about the way it had panned out.

The world number one was up against Argentina's Federico Delbonis at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Thursday when he hit 13-year-old Anita in the face during the third set.

She shares two adorable children with partner Chris Walker who she met while he was working on The Project.

Austrian Dominic Thiem, 26, was asked about the bizarre whispers after his straight sets win over Frenchman Gael Monfils at the Australian Open on Monday.

MIKE DICKSON IN MELBOURNE: Court's uncompromising opinions on LGBT matters have made her a polarising figure and McEnroe became the latest high profile figure to attack her.

MIKE DICKSON IN MELBOURNE: Nick Kyrgios attempted to honour the memory of one of his basketball heroes, Kobe Bryant. In the end, the emotional Australian fell short against Nadal.

Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal, 33, was stopped by security at the Australian Open in Melbourne Park on Wednesday for not having proper identification.

Italian chef Andrea Tranchero has dished out the exact meal Roger Federer eats before every game at the Australian Open - as he shares the 'match winning' recipe.