Ed Balls has been accused of treating the public with 'contempt' after dismissing as a 'joke' the infamous Labour note admitting the party had blown the nation's finances. The shadow chancellor said the letter, left in the Treasury by the former Labour minister Liam Byrne in 2010, was just a 'jokey note'. Mr Byrne's glib note to his successor as Treasury Secretary stated: 'Dear Chief Secretary, I'm afraid there is no money. Kind regards – and good luck! Liam.' Scroll down for video . Damaging: Labour's Liam Byrne sent left this handwritten note to his successor before he left the Treasury in 2010 . The 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. When the Coalition took office in 2010 the budget deficit had reached more than £150billion – more than 10 per cent of the entire size of the economy. But Mr Ball insisted the note admitting that Labour had blown the nation's finances should not be taken seriously. He told BBC West Midlands: 'Liam Byrne's note was a jokey note… of the course the money hadn't run out.' Mr Balls said Labour would cut the deficit – still running at £90billion a year – every year. He said: 'Nothing in our manifesto is going to require additional borrowing. I think in tough times, people want a government which will make tough decisions, and will make the sums add up, and that is what we're saying very clearly today.' But he was asked if Labour was 'credible' and could be trusted with the economy. Mr Balls said: 'I think people want to know the sums add up. People know that the global financial crisis wasn't caused by Labour's spending – it wasn't Labour's spending on nurses and doctors which meant the Lehman Brothers investment bank went bankrupt in New York. 'Liam Byrne's note was a jokey note, of course the money hadn't run out.' 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' Mr Balls blamed the Lib Dem minister David Laws for leaking the note. He said it was supposed to be a private note, adding: 'It was supposed to be a piece of humour. In fact, in that year, the government spend hundreds of billions of pounds, so of course the money hadn't run out, but there was a large deficit, and we had to get it down, and we needed to get it down in a fair way. 'The reason why we're more credible than the Tories now is that they're not people who understand the need for change in the economy, it's not been all in it together, they've not even balanced the books – it's going to take a Labour government to do it.' Former Treasury Secretary Liam Byrne left the note to his successor David Laws in 2010 . The Tories this morning slammed Mr Balls's remarks – claiming they showed that he had not learnt the lessons from the great economic crash. Treasury minister David Gauke said: 'The fact that Ed Balls thinks the debt they left the country was a 'joke' goes to show the contempt they hold the public in. 'It is clear Labour has not learnt the lessons of the past and would do the same all over again - more taxes, more borrowing and more debt.' The letter has haunted Labour for years, allowing Tory and Liberal Democrat ministers to prove the nation's coffers were empty. 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. Written in blue ink on government note paper, it was opened by Lib Dem David Laws who became Chief Secretary to the Treasury when the coalition was formed. Lib Dem Mr Laws said: 'He left a note which frankly does sum up precisely the state of the Treasury when he left it. I think it is refreshing that a Labour politician has been prepared to admit that.' Mr Byrne has admitted he will regret it for the rest of his life. He said: 'It was a very foolish thing to do. 'I suppose I did think there was a convention amongst honourable members that private correspondence would stay private. 'There's obviously a very old tradition of these notes that goes back to the 1930s. I felt disappointed that some very old conventions had been cast aside for political advantage.'
Letter was left in the Treasury by the former minister Liam Byrne in 2010.
It said: 'Dear Chief Secretary, I'm afraid there is no money. Good luck'
Balls insists it was just a 'jokey note' that should not be taken seriously.
The Tories this morning accused him of treating the public with 'contempt'