Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said: “We’re committed to maintaining our policy of ensuring that by 2030 there are no new petrol and diesel cars being sold.

“I’m sure there are some people who would like to change that policy, I understand. But that policy remains.”

But in another interview with Times Radio today, the secretary of state for levelling up was ambivalent about efforts to shift the UK over to heat pumps from traditional gas boilers.

“We’re living through a real cost-of-living challenge and what we don’t want to do is to force individuals to pay excessive sums at this stage – we need to take a proportionate approach,” he said.

In January, the government’s net zero review concluded that no new homes should be built with a gas boiler from 2025. It also proposed a 10-year plan to ensure heat pumps become more widespread throughout the UK.

This was coupled with a new infrastructure strategy that supports adaptation for new green...