Rishi Sunak said rival Liz Truss’s plans for vast tax cuts would “put fuel on the fire” of the inflation problem and create a “sugar rush boom”.
Veteran political journalist Andrew Neil challenged the Tory leadership hopeful over his plans to tighten fiscal policy in a time when “the global economy grinds to a halt, as monetary policy has been tightening”.
Mr Sunak went on to deny U-turning on his stance on cutting VAT on energy bills and dismissed suggestions he has shown a “lack of consistency” and “bad judgment”.