Wannabe Prime Minister Liz Truss defended the obscene profits made by energy companies such as Shell - again resisting calls for them to be hit by a windfall tax.
The oil company recorded eye-watering profits of nearly £9.5 billion for a second quarter in a row, and this week announced it would be giving out £6.5 billion payouts for shareholders.
But at tonight's Sky News candidate debate, Ms Truss rallied against a windfall tax against companies such as Shell and BP - which The Mirror reported yesterday makes £880 a second.
There have been mounting calls for tax on energy firms to help support hard-up families.
The Foreign Secretary, challenged over whether taxing companies enjoying huge profits could help support the UK through difficult economic times, said: "With a windfall tax, it might secure money in the short term but it puts off companies investing in Britain in the long term."
She continued to brand it a "surprise tax", as companies rake in massive sums as a result of the war in Ukraine.
Meanwhile when asked if she would apologise to Nicola Sturgeon for branding her an "attention seeker", she said: "No I won't."
Ms Truss was confronted by an angry voter who told her that her ill-fated 'levelling down' proposal was "offensive" as the fallout over public sector pay rumbles on.
Challenged by a worker from Newcastle on why she felt he should be paid less than someone who did the same job in Guildford, Ms Truss declined to apologise.
The audience member asked her: "Why did you announce a well researched and fully-costed policy in which you openly said you valued the work of teachers, nurses and police officers in Newcastle where I work, less than you value those in Guildford, for example? We're having this election because of poor judgment and trust. Why should we trust your judgment?"
Ms Truss repeated her claim that she had decided to drop the policy because it was being misinterpreted.
She was asked by the member: "Will you apologise? Because it was actually quite offensive."
Ms Truss stopped short of apologising, saying: "I have been very clear that I will not go ahead with this policy, and that I have made a decision to do that straight away.
"And I've been upfront about that. I don't think there is anything to be ashamed of, of saying publicly that this is not working as I wanted it to work, and therefore, I have changed the position on it and I'm not going ahead with it."
Pushed by Sky News presenter Kay Burley on whether she had made a mistake, Ms Truss continued to maintain her views had been "misinterpreted", stating: "I do accept that this wasn't the right policy to deal with situation and therefore I have withdrawn it."
This evening she said she plans to shake-up the chronically understaffed NHS by cutting layers of management - but denied this would involve a staff cull.
This evening Ms Truss said a recession isn't "inevitable", and said she carve layers of management from the NHS, but made no mention of recruitment.
Challenged over staff shortages within the NHS, Ms Truss claimed again that "layers of management" could be cut and medics could be "empowered".
"I've met people who face seven or eight layers of management above them," the Foreign Secretary said.
She added: "We need to deploy people in the NHS better and what I've heard is there's been a lot of targets set centrally by the Department of Health and NHS England, and I want them to be set locally."
She also said she had changed her mind over building new homes on the green belt, having previously said she favoured building one million on land around London.
Meanwhile Mr Sunak was forced to defend his plan to charge NHS patients £10 for missed appointments.
He said: “We have to be prepared to do things differently, challenge the system, and that’s what I am prepared to do.”
Questioned about dentists’ waiting lists, he revealed he had seven fillings and blamed drinking too much Coke as a child.
The former Chancellor was once again confronted over loyalty to outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Referencing the Chris Pincher scandal, an animated Mr Sunak told an audience member: "That was a serious ethical question that the government was on the wrong side of.
"Maybe you could defend it, but I couldn't."
He continued: "We in the Conservative Party need to get real and fast. The lights on the economy are flashing red and the root cause is inflation. I'm worried Liz Truss' plans will make the situation worse."
It has been a difficult day for Ms Truss, as opponents call for two separate investigations into a "Fizz with Liz" champagne dinner.
Labour has written to the Cabinet Secretary calling for an investigation into the event at a private members' club in Mayfair, London, in October.
It is claimed the event, reportedly paid for by Conservative donor Robin Birley, cost £3,000.
Her campaign team has said the wannabe PM did nothing wrong - saying Ms Truss did not organise the event and did not benefit from it.
Meanwhile the Lib Dems have written to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Kathryn Stone, demanding a probe into the event.
Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said: “ Liz Truss is corked from the same vintage as Boris Johnson.
"She thinks the rules don’t apply to her and she can take the British public for fools."
Both candidates clashed over economic policies after the Bank of England announced its sharpest interest rate rise in 27 years.
Labour said the bleak situation is "further proof that the Conservatives have lost control of the economy", while both candidates hoping to become Prime Minister aimed digs at each other.
Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “This is further proof that the Conservatives have lost control of the economy, with skyrocketing inflation set to continue, while mortgage and borrowing rates continue to rise.
“As families and pensioners worry about how they’re going to pay their bills, the Tory leadership candidates are touring the country announcing unworkable policies that will do nothing to help people get through this crisis."
Ms Truss has come under fire at recent events for aiming digs at the First Ministers of Wales and Scotland.
Yesterday she dismissed Labour's Mark Drakeford as a "low energy Jeremy Corbyn " and told the party faithful: "I will crack down on his negativity."
The Foreign Secretary looks set to have a difficult relationship with devolved governments, having described Nicola Sturgeon as an "attention seeker" earlier this week.
She doubled down on her attack on Ms Sturgeon tonight, stating: "The entire resources of the Scottish government is being used to run an independence campaign.
"They're not delivering for the people of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon is spending her time advocating for an independent Scotland."
She made the comments at a hustings event in Cardiff, where rival Rishi Sunak said he was "glad" she had performed a U-turn on catastrophic plans that would have seen hundreds of thousands of public servants endure a pay cut.
