The Conservatives were last night accused of editing a letter of support signed by 145 businessman to avoid reviving the Oliver Letwin row over £20 billion tax cuts.

The letter published in the Telegraph on Monday warned that increased taxes and regulation would damage the country's prosperity and the original, but not the published version, highlighted US president George W Bush's $1.3 trillion tax cuts.

Labour accused the Tories of cutting the text to avoid revealing the true scale of its tax and spending plans. The FT and Independent analyse the letter's signatories to reveal that "more than a quarter are prominent Tories" and that the list contains former Conservative cabinet ministers, party donors, peers and one parliamentary candidate.

William Hague yesterday launched his party's business manifesto saying that a Conservative government would restore Britain's reputation as "one of the best places in the world from which to do business".

Amongst the measures in the manifesto:

- An independent commission to scrutinise business regulation.

- Small business rate reductions of £200 million a year.

- Abolition of the climate change levy.

- Abolition of IR35, the tax on independent contactors.

- Reform of capital gains tax.

- Replacement of the New Deal with a new scheme called Britain Works.

The Labour Party took the opportunity of the Tory launch to publicise an internet game based on the Letwin tax cut saga called "£20 billion cut 'n' run".