Sky-high energy prices are a “price worth paying” to side-line Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine, Liz Truss has claimed.
The Prime Minister also vowed to force through “unpopular” moves amid fears she is poised to slash the cap on bankers’ bonuses.
The Conservative leader indicated she would stop at nothing as she chased economic growth after seizing the keys to No10 from Boris Johnson this month.
Speaking to journalists as she travelled to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, she claimed higher costs were worth the pain so the UK did not rely on regimes such as Russia, which has been accused of “blackmailing” Europe over gas supplies to the Continent.
“It's a price worth paying for Britain, because our long-term security is paramount,” said Ms Truss.
“We cannot jeopardise our security for the sake of cheap energy, and that's the mistake that the entire Western world made post-War.
“It's becoming too dependent on authoritarian regimes - not just for our energy supplies, but also for other critical minerals and other goods.”
The Government has announced that energy bills for a typical household will be frozen at £2,500 for two years.
The price cap was due to climb from £1,971 to £3,549 on October 1.
But ministers are yet to outline how much the measure will cost, amid estimates it could spiral to £150billion.
Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng is due to deliver an emergency mini-Budget to the Commons on Friday.
Ms Truss said she did not want rocketing energy prices “to be passed on to bill-payers … because I don't think that's right”.
Taking a swipe at successive governments, including those of which she was a key member, she added: “I think that there should have been more investment 20 years ago with nuclear power, for example, which there wasn't, and so that's why we do have to make sure that we are guaranteeing people won't have to pay fuel bills that are unaffordable.
“There is of course extra support for those who have the lowest income, there's extra support to make sure the poorest households are able to afford those energy bills.”
Ms Truss won the Conservative leadership by unashamedly backing tax cuts, despite siren warnings it could further fuel inflation and pile tens of billions of pounds more on the national debt.
She insisted: “The number one thing we need to deliver as a government, and in fact as a country, is economic growth.
“Since the financial crisis we have seen relatively low levels of economic growth and without economic growth we cannot deliver better lives for people, whether it’s higher wages or money able to go into public services like the NHS or the education service.
“Lower taxes lead to economic growth, there is no doubt in my mind about that.”
Vowing to press ahead with axing a planned rise in corporation tax, agreed when she was Foreign Secretary in Mr Johnson’s Cabinet, Ms Truss claimed: “Having the highest taxes in 70 years and putting up corporation tax at a time when we’re trying to attract investment to this country isn’t going to deliver growth.
“We need to be competitive.”
She added: “What we are absolutely focused on as a government and what the Chancellor is focused on is growing the economy - that's what's important.”
Amid mounting expectations Mr Kwarteng will scrap the cap on bankers’ bonuses, Ms Truss was grilled on whether her administration was “on the right side”.
“We are on the side of delivering a higher wage economy, that's what we need to do,” she said.
“Not every measure will be popular and there are always vested interests, people who oppose measures that increase economic growth.
“But what is important to me, what is important to the Chancellor, is that people have more opportunities, there is more investment, there are jobs with higher wages - and we are prepared to make that argument.
“This is about growing the size of the pie.”
