A Kent MP has defended the government over its tax plans and is not linking the Chancellor's mini-budget with the UK's current "financial difficulty".

South Thanet MP Craig Mackinlay says the Chancellor made the right call on Friday despite the value of sterling falling, prompting fears of increased interest rates for hard-up households.

He has also criticised the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after it said the UK’s plans were likely to increase inequality and recommended taking an "early opportunity" for a re-evaluation of the policies in the coming weeks.

The Bank of England announced today it will buy government bonds on a temporary basis to help "restore orderly market conditions".

Some economists have predicted the Bank will raise the interest rate from the current 2.25% to 5.8% by next spring.

Mr Mackinlay said: “The IMF sticking its nose into domestic tax rates is a very, very bizarre move.

"I mean, what the hell are they doing, telling or suggesting to countries what tax rate should be?”

The Conservative says Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng made the right call in his mini-budget.

The government decision to hold the corporation tax rate at 19% was “the absolute right thing to do”, says Mr Mackinlay, who represents one of Kent's most deprived constituencies.

“Why on earth we wanted to move from being one of the lowest corporation tax rates in the G20 to one of the highest in one move is completely beyond me when you're trying to attract foreign capital," he said.

He also defended the decision to scrap a planned increase in National Insurance.

“Why any of that should have caused any concern, I really don't know," Mr Mackinlay said.

"So I'm not linking the degree of financial difficulty with that fiscal event.

“Global uncertainty always causes a rush back to the dollar and when you've got Putin rattling the nuclear sabre around the world that enhances the rush to the dollar.

"So you know, none of this is at all unusual frankly. And other currencies have seen exactly the same thing.

"So there's bigger things at play here than fiscal events on a Friday in the UK, I can tell you that.”

He said he understood peoples’ concerns about mortgages and wanted the Bank of England to show restraint.

“I'm concerned that the Bank of England reaches for the national interest rate lever rather too rapidly," Mr Mackinlay said.

"The inflation we're seeing this time is different from what we'd normally see […], for which the mandate for the Bank of England was designed.”

Mortgage companies have withdrawn dozens of offers on products with low or fixed rates.