Liberal leader Mark Rutte has reacted furiously to a tv programme which looked at the effect of the VVD’s spending cuts on three low-income families – including one with a handicapped child – and appeared to show sharp cuts in income.

Rutte said the Network programme was ‘tendentious’, deliberately scared the interviewees and used the wrong calculations. He has asked for the addresses of the three families so he can visit them personally and reassure them about the VVD’s plans.
A spokesman for public broadcaster EO which made the report said the VVD had been given the information about the show in the early afternoon and had made no effort to intervene or have mistakes corrected.
A spokeswoman for the left wing green party GroenLinks said the Liberal leader was wrong to be angry. The VVD is planning to save €6bn on social security payments for people on the lowest incomes, she said.