Welcome... but there's no money left

In a stark message left in a Treasury desk for his successor, outgoing chief secretary to the Treasury Liam Byrne wrote simply: "I'm afraid to tell you there's no money left."

His pithy summary of the serious challenges facing the new power-sharing administration was revealed by Liberal Democrat David Laws, who has taken on the role.

He said: "When I arrived at my desk on the very first day as Chief Secretary, I found a letter from the previous Chief Secretary to give me some advice, I assumed, on how I conduct myself over the months ahead.

"Unfortunately, when I opened it, it was a one-sentence letter which simply said, 'Dear Chief Secretary, I'm afraid to tell you

there's no money left',

which was honest but slightly less helpful

advice than I had been expecting,"

Mr Byrne insisted the message was meant as a private joke.

"My letter was a joke, from one Chief Secretary to another," he said. "I do hope David Laws's sense of humour wasn't another casualty of the coalition deal."

Treasury sources said the full text of the letter from Mr Byrne – dated April 6, the day Gordon Brown called the General Election – was: "Dear Chief Secretary, I'm afraid there is no money. Kind regards – and good luck! Liam."