Downing Street has refused to rule out a summer general election amid speculation Rishi Sunak could call one imminently.

The Prime Minister’s press secretary told reporters in Westminster: “I know there’s a lot of interest in this, as there has been pretty much every week over the last five months.

“I’ll just say the same thing I’ve always said, which is I’m not going to rule anything in or out. The PM said election – second half of the year.”

She declined to say when the second half of the year begins in Mr Sunak’s view, noting it “is quite a wide range”.

She added: “It’s not my job to stand here and pre-empt any of that. Right now, we’re focused on delivering. Just today, we got good inflation news.”