Liz Truss didn't rule out further cost-of-living aid with a remark about 'handouts', ally says

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said tax cuts, not 'handouts', would help families cope with utility bills fuel skyrocketing this winter. She has vowed to cut taxes "immediately" if she becomes prime minister.

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Penny Mordaunt says Truss 'misrepresented' docs remark

Tory leadership 'favorite' Liz Truss wasn't ruling out further help amid a cost-of-living crisis when she rejected 'helpers', her ally has said.

Penny Mordaunt, a former contender in the battle to win No 10, went out to bat for the Foreign Secretary, saying Ms Truss' comments had been 'misinterpreted'.

Ms Truss said tax cuts, not “handouts”, would help families with skyrocketing fuel bills this winter.

Her rival, Rishi Sunak, slammed her comments saying it is "simply wrong" to rule out additional support at this difficult time.

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has urged both candidates to launch an emergency budget with Mr Johnson this week or risk 'sending millions of vulnerable, blameless children and pensioners to a winter of extreme poverty"

Penny Mordaunt supporting the Liz Truss Tory Tory campaign in Exeter (

Picture:

REUTERS)

"The reality is grim and undeniable: A financial time bomb will explode for families in October, as a second fuel price hike in six months sends shockwaves through every home and pushes millions of people at the end of their tether," wrote the former prime minister. in the Sunday Observer.

Trade Minister Ms Mordaunt said Ms Truss was 'considering allowing people to keep more of the money they earn'.

She added: "It makes no sense to take money from people and then give it back in a very, very messy way.

"We need to simplify this and we need to make sure that households are as resilient as possible and stopping levying large sums of tax on people is one way to do that."