Advertisement

Liz Truss criticised over ‘wildly dangerous’ false claims about £2,500 maximum energy bills

Liz Truss falsely claimed that people would not pay more than £2,500 on their energy bills during interviews this morning. (Daniel Leal/AFP/Getty)
Liz Truss falsely claimed that people would not pay more than £2,500 on their energy bills during interviews this morning. (Daniel Leal/AFP/Getty)

Liz Truss has been criticised for making false claims about energy bills during a difficult round of media interviews on Thursday.

The prime minister was lost for words at points as she faced her first round of bruising media appearances after the economic fallout of the mini-budget.

Her comments on how much people would be paying for energy bills this winter raised particular concern, after she incorrectly stated that Britons would not pay more than £2,500 for their energy.

Truss told BBC Radio Kent listeners: “We have taken action by the government stepping in and making sure that nobody is paying fuel bills of more than £2,500”.

Energy bills will be almost double the level last winter (Yahoo News UK/Flourish)
Energy bills will be almost double the level last winter (Yahoo News UK/Flourish)

She repeated the claim on BBC Radio Leeds, saying: “Through the energy price guarantee, the maximum will be £2,500.”

Truss made the same claim over the weekend, telling CNN that “no household” would have to pay more than £2,500 in energy bills under the Energy Price Guarantee.

The scheme, however, does not provide a £2,500 cap on energy bills – and the prime minister has been urged to urgently correct the record over fears that people will use more energy than they can afford under the misapprehension that there is a cap.

Watch: Truss: 'Absolutely right' to give support on energy bills

In reality, the energy price cap limits the price per unit that consumers can be charged at a level that means a typical household will pay around £2,500 per year.

Households that use more energy will pay more.

It comes as recent polling by USwitch shows poor public understanding of the policies surrounding energy bills, with around one in eight people believing their energy bill will fall before the end of the year.

NORTHFLEET, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 23: UK Prime Minister Liz Truss and Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng visit Berkeley Modular, on September 23, 2022 in Northfleet, England. The Chancellor has released its growth plan of some 30 measures including tax cuts and an energy price cap for businesses which comes at a time when the UK faces a cost-of-living crisis, recession, soaring inflation and climbing interest rates. (Dylan Martinez - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Liz Truss defended Kwasi Kwarteng's mini-budget announcements. (Dylan Martinez/WPA/Getty)

Will Moy, chief executive of Full Fact, said that the prime minister “repeatedly misled” listeners this morning.

He said: “She must now publicly correct her mistake to make sure people are not misled about their energy prices and hit with unexpected and unaffordable energy bills this winter.”

Others were more forthright, with Labour’s Kate Osborne accusing Truss of “lying to everyone again”.

Labour’s shadow minister for energy, Alan Whitehead, said that Truss’ claims were “dangerous”, adding: “By saying that households won’t pay more than £2,500 a year for energy bills, Liz Truss either doesn’t understand her own energy policy, or is misleading the public – something that could have dire consequences.”

Downing Street did not respond to the comments made by Truss, instead pointing Yahoo News UK to the PM saying this morning that the government has acted “to make sure that nobody is paying more than a typical fuel bill of £2,500”.

Truss’ media round on Thursday has been widely regarded a disaster, after she engaged in lengthy pauses while defending government borrowing aimed at cutting taxes to promote economic growth.

Liz Truss had a difficult round of media interviews on Thursday morning. (Reuters/Maja Smiejkowska)
Liz Truss had a difficult round of media interviews on Thursday morning. (Reuters/Maja Smiejkowska)

The PM was accused by BBC Radio Bristol’s presenter of giving the “same scripted answer” to every local radio station as she answered questions about the Bank of England’s intervention on Wednesday.

Truss reiterated the UK was facing a “very, very difficult economic situation” as a result of Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.

BBC Radio Bristol’s presenter suggested the government had inflicted the economic turmoil on the country, and chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng had “opened up the stable door and spooked the horses so much you could almost see the economy being dragged behind them”.