BRITISH business secretary Sajid Javid has been accused of privately backing Brexit, even though he publicly supports the EU Remain campaign.
Former cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith said that Mr Javid had admitted in private that he wanted the UK to leave the EU.
The business secretary appeared on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme to defend the latest Treasury analysis warning of a year-long recession if the country votes to leave.
However the pro-Brexit Mr Duncan Smith told the programme he was "deeply disappointed" in Mr Javid as "having privately said how much he wanted the UK to leave the European Union, he is now defending this terrible report".
Pressed on whether Mr Javid had said to him he wanted out, Mr Duncan Smith replied: "He has."
Asked whether that meant Mr Javid was "lying in public", Mr Duncan Smith said: "He has written it in an article."
Asked on the programme about his previous Eurosceptic views, Mr Javid said: "At that time no-one knew what the final deal would be. Look what has been achieved in this renegotiation. Now that's being put to the British people.
"Since the announcement of the referendum we have far more detail of the impact, such as this report, that is coming out."
Mr Duncan Smith's claim that Mr Javid had spoken privately about wanting to leave the EU was rejected by the business secretary.
A Whitehall source said: "This is simply not true. Sajid has said no such thing in private or in public."
