New Chancellor hints at tax cuts to help save Boris

Nothing off table as he vows to 'rebuild' - but Bank warns again over growth

- Nicholas Cecil, Jonathan Prynn and David Bond

NEW Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi today dangled the prospect of more tax cuts as Boris Johnson battled for survival.

On his first day in the Treasury, he stressed that the Prime Minister had tasked him with "rebuilding" and "growing" the economy.

Mr Zahawi insisted he would not be fiscally reckless - amid a clamour from many Conservative MPs for tax cuts but said "nothing is off the table" when it comes to measures to boost the economy.

He signalled more support for households facing increasingly difficult financial situations because of the cost-of-living crisis.

He insisted that big pay rises would only fuel an inflation spiral - but was still defending a nine per cent pay rise for teachers which he had been pushing for as Education Secretary.

Asked what immediate economic plans he had made with the Prime Minister, Mr Zahawi told Sky News: "The most important thing is to rebuild the economy post-pandemic, and to get growth going again, and tax cuts.

"We are delivering the first tax cut in a decade today," he added, referring to the raising of the National Insurance contributions threshold to £12,570. I'm determined to do more." Pressed on whether he would stick with increasing corporation tax from 19 per cent to 25 per cent, he said: "I will look at everything. There's nothing off the table. I want to be one of the most competitive countries in the world for investment.

"I know that boards around the world, when they make investment decisions, they're long-term, and the one tax they can compare globally is corporation tax.