Philip Hammond has branded claims made by his former classmate Richard Madeley that he was a goth at school as "shocking".
Television personality Madeley attended Shenfield High School in Brentwood, Essex, with the newly appointed Chancellor during the 1970s.
Appearing on ITV's Good Morning Britain, the rumours he was a "goth" and a "left-wing, leather trench coat-wearing guy" who would carry a copy of The Guardian newspaper were put to him.
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Amused by the comments, Mr Hammond simply said "shocking, shocking", before defending himself by claiming goths "hadn't even been invented in those days".
He added: "After making these shocking allegations, Richard Madeley did contact me to concede that actually on reflection, it probably was the Financial Times, not The Guardian."
Mr Hammond jokingly agreed with Piers Morgan when the presenter suggested that carrying a copy of The Guardian would be "career-wrecking" for a Conservative chancellor.
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In a picture of the politician from his days of education shown on screen, a young Mr Hammond can be seen wearing black glasses, sporting a wave of dark hair and his tie scruffily undone.
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