Jeremy Hunt has insisted that the government’s plan to bring inflation down is “working” despite it rising in December.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the rate of Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation rose to 4 per cent in December, up from 3.9 per cent in November.
It has increased for the first time since February last year after rises in tobacco and alcohol prices, according to official figures.
Inflation “never falls in a straight line,” the chancellor added, referencing rises in the US, France, and Germany.
