Rishi Sunak has hit out at Liz Truss over her plans for 'non-Conservative' tax cuts in a fierce leadership debate.
On when is the right time to cut taxes, Mr Sunak said: "Well look, we all took a decision to protect the economy and support the NHS through Covid, and of course we all knew there was a bill that we needed to pay for that, so the question is, should we pay that bill ourselves or do we put it on the country's credit card and pass the tab to our children and grandchildren to take care of.
Mr Sunak interrupted saying "that's simply not right", adding: "You promised almost £40 billion of unfunded tax cuts...that is the country's credit card." Mr Sunak sought to stress his decision to quit Mr Johnson's government as a sign he acts according to his principles while Ms Truss stressed her loyalty to her current boss."I think we need to look forward at this point - that's why I want to be Prime Minister."
A snap poll by Opinium, based on a sample of 1,032 voters, found 39% believed Mr Sunak had performed best compared to 38% for Ms Truss.On connections with China, Ms Truss accused her rival of "pushing for closer trade relationships". Lord Cruddas of Shoreditch, a former Conservative Party treasurer, told the Telegraph that the comments were made to him by Mr Johnson over lunch at Chequers on Friday.
The peer added: "Boris thanked me for my 'Boris on the ballot' campaign. He said he was enjoying following it and he wished me well. He said he could understand the membership's anger at what had happened. He said that he wished that he could carry on as Prime Minister. He said he does not want to resign."
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