Liz Truss accused of 'running scared' from cost of living scrutiny after cancelling BBC interview

Tory leadership frontrunner Liz Truss has been accused of "running scared" after she pulled out of a BBC interview at the last minute.

Ms Truss had agreed to a primetime in-depth interview with political journalist Nick Robinson on BBC One on Tuesday evening - but her team said on Monday that she can "no longer spare the time".

Her rival, Rishi Sunak, was grilled by Mr Robinson earlier this month, while Ms Truss is yet to do a single set-piece interview.

The foreign secretary was expected to have been pressed on her support plan on the cost of living crisis, as calls for the incoming prime minister to address soaring energy costs are becoming increasingly urgent.

The Liberal Democrat's chief whip, Wendy Chamberlain, has accused Ms Truss of "running scared of the media and proper public scrutiny".

She added: "How can she lead our country through an economic crisis when she can't even cope with a basic media interview?

"She wants to follow in Margaret Thatcher’s footsteps, but she’s fallen at the first hurdle.

"She’s fighting for the highest office by answering the lowest number of difficult questions."

A source from Mr Sunak’s team also hit out at her decision to cancel, adding: “Avoiding that scrutiny suggests either Truss doesn’t have a plan at all or the plan she has falls far short of the challenges we face this winter.”

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It comes as Ms Truss' camp has said she will not finalise her plans for a cost of living package for households until she gets "full support and advice" as prime minister.

The public will likely be forced to wait to find out what help they will get with skyrocketing energy bills until Boris Johnson's replacement takes to Downing Street next week.

Ms Truss has been accused by Labour of causing families “unnecessary worry” with her “flip-flopping” on potential measures to deal with the cost of living crisis.

Her campaign said that meetings offered with government officials to prepare for a possible transition do not cover all the information needed for Ms Truss to make an informed decision on how to help households this winter.

A campaign source said: “Liz and her team are working to ensure that they are able to hit the ground running if she is elected prime minister.

“Access meetings with the cabinet secretary have been offered to provide limited briefings to help prepare for forming an administration.

“But addressing the cost of living crisis will rightly require the full support and advice that is only available to the government of the day.”

Over the weekend, the foreign secretary’s team said she is leaning towards targeted support rather than help for all, but maintained she is not “ruling anything out”, while it was also reported she is considering slashing VAT by 5% across the board.

This stance comes after Ms Truss previously insisted she will use tax cuts not "handouts" to tackle the issue.

Labour condemned the contradictory statements and accused Ms Truss and Mr Sunak of lacking any real plans.

Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Pat McFadden said: “This flip-flopping by Liz Truss, floating one policy idea after another, is causing the country unnecessary worry about their bills”.

School leaders have also warned that without more funding, children’s education would be damaged due to redundancies, larger classes and cuts to the curriculum.

Former Tory Education Secretary Kenneth Baker told The Guardian: “Some schools are bound to go in the red.

“We’re heading into a really ghastly two-year period and it’s going to require remarkable leadership to come out of this smiling”.

The government has been accused of being missing in action amid resounding warnings that people are facing a dire winter.

Critics have pointed to the contrast with emergency measures being taken by European governments to deal with soaring energy bills.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday pledged to reform the European electricity market to help curb prices for customers.

Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has insisted he has been working tirelessly to come up with proposals for either Tory leadership candidate for more cost of living support.

He is travelling to the US this week to seek cooperation on tackling the crisis with top bankers and US government officials, saying: “These global pressures must be overcome through global efforts”.

James Murray, Labour’s shadow financial secretary to the Treasury, said: “Rather than going on another junket at the taxpayers’ expense, the Chancellor should start listening to people here at home and implementing Labour’s fully funded plan to freeze energy bills”.

Regulator Ofgem warned the government last week that it must act urgently to “match the scale of the crisis we have before us” as Britain faced the bleak news that the average household’s yearly bill will rise 80% in October from £1,971 to £3,549.

Ms Truss and Mr Sunak will go head-to-head again in the final official hustings of the Tory leadership race on Wednesday.

The ballot of Conservative Party members closes on Friday, with the winner to be announced next Monday.