‘Can you confirm that the Treasury has abandoned plans to force pension funds to pay tax on the dividends they receive?’

Three seats down I can feel Alan Scott staring at me with a mixture of puzzlement and frustration. I ignore him: all my attention is on Mendes, who squints, then turns his eyes up to the ceiling as if he is trying to remember. This is his tell: I’ve seen it before. Playing for time.

‘You’re referring to the article your colleague wrote last month.’ Christ, he has a good memory. ‘As I recall, that was speculative. And as you know, there is a time-honoured tradition that we never comment on taxation, which are matters for the budget.’

I won’t let it drop. ‘Just to be clear, you are neither confirming or denying that the Treasury was planning a raid on pension fund tax credits, and that you’ve backed off.’

I’ve now got the attention of the room. My colleagues spot I have a story, though for most of them the tax status of pension funds is inhospitable territory.

‘Again, I can’t comment on speculation. But –’ A dramatic pause. Mendes loves this pantomime. ‘What I can say is that the Prime Minister and the Chancellor are united in their view that the duty of government is to protect people’s hard-earned pensions, and they would never do anything to put that at risk.’

Bingo. That’s not a denial, or even a non-denial denial. And if he hasn’t denied it, then I have my story.

Mendes takes a few other questions but there isn’t much more to say. As soon as we’re done, I rush back to the office before Scott can collar me.

*

‘He as good as confirmed it,’ I tell Jess, who is tapping away at her keyboard. ‘Any word from the Chancellor’s office?’

‘They said they’ll get back to us.’

‘Fine.’ I stand behind her and read over her shoulder. In the time I’ve been at the Lobby briefing, she’s already written most of the story.

The government has abandoned a £5bn tax raid on pension funds.

As first reported in the FC, the government had been devising plans for what was described as a ‘painless’ reform to the pension tax credit system. The policy would have raised over £5bn per year. However, government sources say the tax reform has been dropped.

The government had been widely expected to seek new revenue raising measures to pay for tax cuts. It is not clear why the abolition of the so-called dividend tax credit has been shelved.

A Treasury spokesman said blah blah blah . . .

‘I’ll drop in the quote when we get it.’

Bang on cue, the phone in my pocket starts to ring. I recognise the number. ‘It’s the Treasury.’