Liz Truss has pledged to “act immediately” on energy bills and supply if she wins the Conservative leadership vote and becomes the new Prime Minister.

But the favourite to follow Boris Johnson into Downing Street repeatedly declined to spell out her plans to tackle soaring energy bills, 24 hours before she is expected to be named as the next Prime Minister.

The Foreign Secretary, who will find out on Monday (September 5) if she has defeated rival Rishi Sunak in the Tory leadership contest, said she would to act “immediately” to tackle the energy crisis upon entering Number Ten but would not offer clear detail of the support struggling households can expect.

There have been ever-louder calls in recent weeks for the Government to intervene to support the most vulnerable, with energy bills set to rise to around £3,500 this winter for the average household.

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Ms Truss, who denied she was being “coy”, said she wanted to reassure voters that help is coming but indicated they would need to wait for a few days yet to find out what exactly such support might look like.

In an interview with the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, she said: “I will act if I’m elected as prime minister.

“I will act immediately on bills and on energy supply because I think those two things go hand in hand.

“We need to deal with the immediate problem, we need to help people.

“We need to help businesses. But we also need to sort out the supply issues.”

Repeatedly pressed on what form that action would take, Ms Truss said: “Before you have been elected as Prime Minister, you don’t have all the wherewithal to get the things done.

“This is why it will take a week to sort out the precise plans and make sure we are able to announce them.

“That is why I cannot go into details at this stage. It would be wrong.

“I understand people are worried and I want to reassure people that I am absolutely determined to sort out this issue as well within a month, present a full plan for how we are going to reduce taxes, how we’re going to get the British economy going, and how we are going to find our way out of these very difficult times.”

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Mr Sunak, widely believed to be heading towards a defeat, took a similar approach as he told the programme he could not give the “exact” pennies or pounds of support.

“I haven’t seen all the numbers and nation’s finances.”

Labour leapt on the lack of detail, with Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry labelling it “extraordinary” that Conservative Party leadership candidates, “cannot give a specific answer to the one question frankly that everybody wants an answer to.”

Some experts and analysts have warned that neither Ms Truss nor Mr Sunak have set out sufficient plans to shepherd the UK through the coming months as the country braces for soaring energy bills and worsening inflation.

Ms Truss’ proposals, which include reversing April’s rise in national insurance and next year’s corporation tax increase from 19-per cent to 25pc, have prompted accusations they could worsen the already grim economic situation.

On Sunday, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon offered a stark warning to the likely next Prime Minister, telling Sky News: “If she governs how she has campaigned over the summer, she will be a disaster.”

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