Brit shoppers WON’T be slapped with meat tax in good news for weekly shop

BURGERS and bangers WON'T be slapped with a meat tax following Cabinet fury at the bonkers green plan.

Downing St today denied that Boris Johnson's drive to cut emissions includes hiking the price of barbecue favourites.

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Environment Secretary George Eustice sparked uproar on the eve of the COP26 climate summit by appearing to raise the prospect.

The top Tory said he was considering "carbon taxes" - that would whack up the cost of high-polluting products. 

But giving a cast-iron vow the PM's spokesman promised: "We have said before that we won't be introducing a meat tax."

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss also blasted the idea and said countries should go green with incentives not "punishment beatings".

The former farming minister said: "I wouldn't support a meat tax. "It's really important we support our fantastic British farming industry and it's important that rather than using the stick to encourage people to become more climate friendly we use the carrot, if that's not mixing metaphors with meat.

"And we actually make a climate-friendly lifestyle more affordable for people."

Even Government climate tsar and born-again veggie Alok Sharma balked at suggestions of a meat tax.

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Allies of Mr Eustice insist he was referring to a carbon border tax and is dead against a meat tax.

A government source told The Sun: "George has never said he is in favour of a meat tax. He was referring to a carbon border tax - something entirely different."

Carbon border taxes put levies on imports that leave a carbon footprint but haven't been taxed in the country they came from.

They could still be placed on animal products shipped from overseas - like Aussie beef or New Zealand lamb - but wouldn't be a blanket tax on all meat.

Mr Johnson has stressed his strategy to achieve Net Zero by 2050 does not involve whacking people's wallets to go green.

But he will tell world leaders in Glasgow today that the clock is at "one minute to midnight" and they have to stop frying the planet now.