Penny Mordaunt under fire for claiming fuel tax cut is ‘self-funding’ because revenues are going up

Sunak-backer Dominic Raab rubbishes argument – amid criticism of campaign for undermining UK’s ‘net zero’ commitment

Penny Mordaunt has sparked a row over her plan to slash fuel tax by denying it would blow a multi-billion pound black hole in the Treasury’s finances – because revenues are rising.

The claim that the cut would be “self-funding” was rubbished by a key supporter of Rishi Sunak, who has accused his rivals of “fairytale” economics in the Tory leadership race.

Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister and a Sunak backer, urged Ms Mordaunt to produce a “serious analysis of self-funding tax cuts” to back up her argument.