Jeremy Hunt took a swipe at Matt Hancock in his Budget speech over the former health secretary's leaked WhatsApp messages revealed by The Telegraph.

Addressing MPs in the Commons, the Chancellor announced plans to abolish the lifetime allowance for pensions as part of a bid to get older people back into work and halt the trend of early retirement - in particular among NHS doctors.

But Mr Hunt also took the opportunity to mock Mr Hancock, whose correspondences with ministers and officials at the height of the pandemic were revealed in the The Telegraph's investigation, The Lockdown Files.

"I have listened to the concerns of many senior NHS clinicians who say unpredictable pension tax charges are making them leave the NHS just when they are needed most," Mr Hunt said.

"The NHS is our biggest employer, and we will shortly publish the long-term workforce plan I promised in the Autumn Statement.

"But ahead of that I do not want any doctor to retire early because of the way pension taxes work.

"It's an issue I discussed not just with the current health secretary, but with the former health secretary who kindly took a break from WhatsApping his colleagues to consider it."

The Lockdown Files analysed over 100,000 WhatsApp messages sent between Mr Hancock and officials at the height of the pandemic, shedding new light on the way decisions were made at the heart of Government during the period.

They formed the basis of dozens of revelations, which have sparked questions about whether ministers ignored scientific advice in their response to Covid. 

Among the revelations, it was revealed that Mr Hancock rejected the Chief Medical Officer’s advice to test for Covid on all residents going into English care homes.

Dubbed the "doctors' tax" by certain MPs, the so-called lifetime allowance is the maximum amount of money workers can put in their pension pots before they are taxed. The limit currently stands at just over £1m, but is set to be abolished entirely.

Gradual cuts to the limit meant that many highly-paid workers, including NHS doctors, cut their hours or retired early.

The Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) think-tank described the LTA limit as the biggest "impediment" to staying in work for those affected. 

It agreed that lowering the pensions cap from £1.8m in 2011 to £1 million by 2016 had "hastened the retirement of some older workers".