Wealthy bankers will get to keep their bumper bonuses despite Liz Truss's historic Budget U-turn, it emerged today.
The Treasury confirmed it will forge ahead with scrapping the cap on their multimillion-pound payouts.
In a jarring move, it comes at the same time as help for energy bills for ordinary Brits is slashed by tens of billions of pounds.
Scrapping the bankers’ bonus cap is one of the few changes to survive from Kwasi Kwarteng 's mini-Budget three weeks ago.
Under rules brought in after the 2008 financial crash, bonuses were limited at double an employee's salary.
Ex-Chancellor Mr Kwarteng gave the green light last month to unlimited payments. He claimed instead of affecting the amount of cash bankers were taking home, the cap had simply driven up their basic salaries.
"We need global banks to create jobs here, invest here and pay taxes here in London, not Paris, not Frankfurt and not New York,” he said.
But the move - while millions of families struggle to make ends meet as the cost of living soars - caused an outcry.
And it is now being pushed through despite tax cuts for workers being scrapped, and the cap on all households’ energy bills being shortened from two years to just six months.
A Treasury official said the cap will still be axed because it had not required any government borrowing, and therefore will not affect the stability of the economy.
A source insisted: “The cap was bad policy - didn't cap bankers pay, and was bad for financial stability.”
Yet it comes at the same time as new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt warning of sweeping austerity cuts when he delivers a full fiscal plan on October 31.
Mr Hunt said: "All departments will have to redouble their efforts to find savings."
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "For all the announced U-turns, it is really clear that this Chancellor is now preparing the country for another round of austerity.
“There is no suggestion here that profiteering energy companies should pay more or that city bankers should not get unfettered bonuses.
“When he talks about “the difficult decisions that lie ahead” this is code for 'workers and communities will pay’.”
No10 confirmed Whitehall departments will be asked to “look again” at what spending they can cut.
Chancellor Mr Hunt will meet with all Secretaries of State this week to decide on future spending plans which will then be submitted to the Office for Budget Responsibility this Friday.
Liz Truss had announced an Energy Prices Guarantee that would cap the average household's bill at around £2,500 a year for two years until October 2024.
Now, it will only apply to April 2023. Beyond that point, the government will design a new energy package that will "cost the taxpayer significantly less" and focus on the most vulnerable.
It comes despite Tories repeatedly attacking Labour for only guaranteeing six months' support.
Ms Truss said at PMQs last week: "We have taken decisive action to make sure people are not facing energy bills of £6,000 for two years.
"I think we remember the Opposition is only talking about six months!"
