Find ‘something better’ than energy price freeze set to cost £150bn, Liz Truss told

‘This could turn out to be the biggest single fiscal announcement in my lifetime’, IFS chief warns

The energy price freeze must be replaced by “something better next winter” because it will cost up to £150bn, a leading economist has warned Liz Truss.

Paul Johnson, the head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), urged the prime minister to ditch plans to hold down everyone’s bills until 2024 and find a smarter solution to the crisis.

The plea comes after fierce criticism of the government for failing to reveal the expected cost of a two-year freeze ahead of an expected “mini-budget” next week.