Revealed: how Sunak dropped smoking ban amid lobbying from tobacco firms

Rishi Sunak at Haughton academy in Darlington, England, in January, where he outlined plans to ban single-use vapes. Photograph: Ian Forsyth/AP

Rishi Sunak abandoned his “legacy” policy to ban smoking for future generations amid a backlash from the tobacco industry in the form of legal threats, lobbying and a charm offensive aimed at Conservative MPs, an investigation reveals.

The UK had been on course to become the first country to ban smoking for future generations, via the tobacco and vaping bill, which Downing Street hoped would help define Sunak’s place in British political history.