Britain does not believe that cutting a value-added tax on consumer energy bills is the right way to help households through a cost of living crisis, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Simon Clarke said on Monday.

Energy bills are set to jump by around 50% in April and the opposition Labour Party have suggested cutting VAT on bills could help soften the blow.

Clarke told BBC TV that that would be a rather blunt tool however, helping the wealthiest households who have the largest bills. "We are not persuaded at this point that this is the right intervention," Clarke said of a VAT cut.

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; writing by Kate Holton)