It came after the Tories' unexpected victory at the Uxbridge by-election, which was credited to their opposition to the ULEZ congestion zone charge scheme.
They told Sky's deputy political editor Sam Coates that a push back on the petrol and diesel ban would mean breaking a promise the prime minister made to Conservative MPs privately.Separately, one minister said they would be"staggered" if the car ban is delayed because of the signals it sends to the industry, telling Sky News:"Every automotive company is investing in EV, we've just given Tata all this money to make batteries, it's bonkers.
Tory former Cabinet minister Sir Simon Clarke tweeted that"it is in our environmental, economic, moral and political interests as @Conservatives to make sure we lead on this issue rather than disown it".Labour's shadow energy secretary Ed Miliband said:"This is a complete farce from a Tory government that literally does not know what they are doing day to day.