Pledge over new nanny state taxes on junk food

LIZ Truss last night vowed to call a halt on taxes aimed at deterring families from buying junk food.

The Tory leadership frontrunner said she would scrap proposals for a ban on ‘buy one, get one free’ deals on unhealthy products.

And she pledged no new ‘nanny state’ levies would be imposed on products high in fat, sugar or salt if she became prime minister. ‘Those taxes are over,’ said Miss Truss.

‘Talking about whether or not somebody should buy a two for one offer? No. There is definitely enough of that. What people want the Government to be doing is delivering good roads, good rail services, making sure there’s broadband, making sure there’s mobile phone coverage, cutting the NHS waiting lists, helping people get a GP appointment.

‘They don’t want the Government telling them what to eat.’

As she made a campaign stop at a farm near Newton Abbot in Devon yesterday, Miss Truss insisted she was not complacent about the leadership campaign and would not let up in the fight.

She said: ‘This is a big decision for the Conservative Party. My view is we need to be bold.

‘We need to be bold in order to get Britain’s economy going. And we need to be bold in order to win the next general election.’

As part of the Government’s strategy to reduce obesity, a crackdown on junk food promotions had been due to come into force in October next year. Buy one, get one free and three for two offers would have been banned on food and drinks high in fat, sugar and salt.

A levy on sugary drinks was imposed four years ago.

Meanwhile, Miss Truss will today unveil plans to reform Whitehall with a commitment to reduce the civil servant headcount by a fifth.