Brexit opportunities minister Jacob Rees-Mogg has suggested that he empathises with backbench Conservative concerns over the £37 billion support package announced by the chancellor yesterday.

When asked if he “saw” the concerns of David Davis and John Redwood over the inflationary risks about today’s measures, he said: “I see their concerns. As I say, I think this is a balancing act that it would be foolish of me to pretend is easy to get right.”

However he explained the government’s measures, stating: “It’s a very difficult balancing act in an inflationary period. You have to get the balance right to ensure that the deficit doesn’t explode, because deficit spending during an inflationary period is deeply inflationary.”

“And as I say, I think this is a balancing act, that it would be foolish for me to pretend it’s easy to get right.”

“What I was saying there is that people need to understand that there is not a tax that you can take that is economically cost free…There is no non-tax way, ultimately, of spending. It is either today’s tax, or it’s tomorrow’s tax through borrowing.”