article_snippet.sent: The shadow chancellor said the letter, left in the Treasury the Treasury by the former Labour minister Liam Byrne in 2010, was just a 'jokey note'.
article_snippet.sent: the former Labour minister Liam Byrne glib note to the former Labour minister Liam Byrne successor as the Treasury Secretary stated: 'Dear Chief Secretary, I'm afraid there is no money.
article_snippet.sent: this handwritten note has become emblematic of Labour's fiscal irresponsibility in office and was used by David Cameron in the seven-way leaders' debate earlier this month.
article_snippet.sent: Mr Ball told BBC West Midlands: 'the former Labour minister Liam Byrne's note was a jokey note… of the course no money hadn't run out.'
article_snippet.sent: Liam Byrne's note was a jokey note, of course no money hadn't run out.'
article_snippet.sent: Ed Balls, pictured in Birmingham today, said the letter, left in the Treasury by the former Labour minister Liam Byrne in 2010, was just a 'jokey note'
article_snippet.sent: Mr Balls said it was supposed to be a private note, adding: 'it was supposed to be a piece of humour.
article_snippet.sent: The letter has haunted Labour for years, allowing Tory and Liberal Democrat ministers to prove the nation's coffers were empty.
article_snippet.sent: The letter consisting of just 18 words it offers no apology or justification for the state of the nation's finances, only a glib 'good luck' to whoever was left to clear up the economic mess.
highlights_snippet.sent: It said: 'Dear Chief Secretary, I'm afraid there is no money.
highlights_snippet.sent: Good luck'
  Balls insists it was just a 'jokey note' that should not be taken seriously .
  