'not necessary or justified! ' frost unleashes fury at boris on ni hike

The former Brexit minister, who remains popular among Tory ranks, hit out at the Prime Minister saying that "the tax rises this April were never necessary or justified". He urged

Mr Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak to abandon their plan to instead focus on lowering costs for hard-working families across the country. Britain is currently gripped by a cost of living

crisis, with inflation rampant, energy bills surging, and taxes set to hit dizzying heights. In light of the economic situation, Mr Johnson has found himself coming under increasing pressure

to postpone or cancel his 1.25 percent national insurance contribution rise. The Prime Minister announced increase last autumn saying the tax rise would help clear the NHS backlog caused by

the pandemic and help fix the funding black hole for adult social care. Treasury forecasts suggest £36billion will be raised by the extra national insurance contributions. READ MORE: RISHI

SUNAK TOLD TO RETHINK NATIONAL INSURANCE RISE -'SCRAP IT!' The increase breaks a manifesto pledge made by the Tories at the next election not to up the rate. Calling on Mr Johnson

to U-turn on the decision, Mr Frost told the Daily Mail: "Given the new pressures on energy prices and inflation, it’s even more important now to scrap these tax increases and focus on

getting the economy growing again. "Allowing people to keep more of their own money is always the best way." While MPs supported the Government in a Commons vote on increasing

national insurance at the time, many backbenchers have been left furious by No10's plans to plough ahead with the plan given the circumstances. Former Cabinet minister David Davis has

also gone public in urging a rethink. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the national insurance rise would remove about 10 percent of the disposable income of "ordinary

families" and was based on the "wrong data". DON'T MISS: BORIS BACKED INTO A CORNER! PM'S TWO ESCAPE ROUTES LAID OUT [INSIGHT] SURPRISE CANDIDATE TO REPLACE BORIS

JOHNSON REVEALED - LATEST ODDS [UPDATE] HAVE YOUR SAY: SHOULD BORIS STAY TO SEE THROUGH BREXIT? [REACT] Mr Davis said: "It was a judgment made on, frankly, quite a lot of wrong data.

"They didn't know at the time that by April we would have the highest inflation rate in 30 years, they didn't know that interest rates would be going up, council tax would be

going up, the fuel price is about to jump by £700 a year for the average family. "Therefore, they didn't know quite what pressure there would be on ordinary people." During a

television interview on a visit to Milton Keynes Hospital on Monday, Mr Johnson appeared to give a hint he may delay the rise after refusing eight times to explicitly commit to going ahead

in April. However, he told broadcasters "we have to pay for" NHS improvements. He said: "The NHS has done an amazing job but it has been under terrible strain. "Listen to

what I'm saying: We've got to put that money in. We've got to make that investment in our NHS. "What I'm telling people is, if you want to fund our fantastic NHS,

we have to pay for it - and this Government is determined to do so." A Downing Street source said last night that while there had been demands for Mr Johnson to ditch the rise, no one

had put forward a "credible plan" for an alternative way to pay for the NHS backlog and social care.