The Prime Minister has been accused of throwing Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng “under a bus” today by saying that the decision to cut income tax for the richest was made by the Chancellor and not Cabinet.

Former Culture Secretary, Nadine Dorries, criticised the remarks made by Truss on the first day of the Tory conference in Birmingham.

What is the tax cut?

The new tax cut would see the 45% tax rate on incomes over £150,000 abolished.

This has seen a negative reaction since its announcement as the country faces a cost of living crisis. Some Conservative MPs have also voiced anger over the cut.

However, Truss has appeared to suggest that the decision was Kwarteng’s alone, saying they did not discuss the controversial plan with the wider Cabinet.

She told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: “No, no, we didn’t. It was a decision the Chancellor made.”

Ms Dorries responded by tweeting that “one of” Boris Johnson’s “faults was that he could sometimes be too loyal.”

“However, there is a balance and throwing your Chancellor under a bus on the first day of conference really isn’t it,” she continued.

Fingers crossed, she added, “things improve and settle down from now.”

The row comes after Downing Street denied there had been a row between Truss and Kwarteng over how to deal with the pound as it plummeted in the wake of the announcement of plans to pay for £45 billion of tax cuts with borrowing.

The Prime Minister’s defence of Mr Kwarteng attending a private Champagne reception with hedge fund managers who stood to gain from a collapse in sterling following his mini-budget also appeared less than full-throated.

“I do not manage Kwasi Kwarteng’s diary, believe me,” Ms Truss told the BBC.