Senior Tories dismayed at Badenoch’s ‘catastrophic’ vow to repeal Climate Change Act

Theresa May, Alok Sharma, business and church leaders say plan would harm UK and not even Margaret Thatcher would have countenanced it

The former prime minister Theresa May has condemned a promise made by Kemi Badenoch to repeal the Climate Change Act if the Tories win the next general election, calling the plans a catastrophic mistake".

She joined other leading Tories, business groups, scientists and the Church of England in attacking the Conservative leader's announcement, which would remove the requirement for governments to set carbon budgets" laying out how far greenhouse gas emissions will be cut every five years, up to 2050.