Rishi Sunak has been accused of “selling nonsense” to voters by a former top government adviser.
Baronness Casey - who served as the UK’s first Victims Commissioner - said she was “angry and upset” at the prime minister.
It came after Sunak gave an interview to BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme.
He was quizzed over his Rwanda deportation scheme, taxes, welfare spending and when he would call an election.
Asked for her opinion on the PM’s answers, Casey told the programme: “I feel a bit sad actually. We are in just the most extraordinary place in our country.
“I didn’t take from that any sense there’s an acceptance that things are as bad for people as they are. Things are really bad for an awful lot of people out there.”
She added: “Spin is such a dangerous thing.
“You’re in this invidious position where the guy is running into the general election, he’’s probably quite a decent bloke, he seems to be quite an alright chancellor, despite all of the terrible things.
“And there he is selling nonsense. It just rang hollow.”
Casey said she had been hoping Sunak would show “some acceptance” that people in the UK were feeling “pretty low”.
Sunak had told the programme he was going to “stick to the plan” because it was “starting to work”.
“I genuinely believe we’ve turned a corner,” he said. |“The country is now pointing in the right direction.”