Rishi Sunak "dismissed" concerns over Covid loan fraud while Chancellor and cost taxpayers more than £17billion, a former Treasury colleague has claimed.
The comments came during a heated TV leadership debate, which saw Mr Sunak also criticised for his response to the cost of living crisis while in Government.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: “Rishi, you have raised taxes to the highest level in 70 years. That is not going to drive economic growth." Read more: The Greater Manchester emergency numbers to call as councils prepare for 'extreme heat' “The fact is that raising taxes at this moment will choke off economic growth, it will prevent us getting the revenue we need to pay off the debt.” Mr Sunak responded that the pandemic damaged the economy and the money has to be paid back. “I’d love to stand here and say ‘look, I’ll cut this tax, that tax and another tax and it will all be okay’.
But you know what? It won’t,” he said. “There’s a cost to these things and the cost of higher inflation, higher mortgage rates, eroded savings.