The ban on the sale of new conventional diesel and petrol cars from 2040 "lacks sufficient ambition" and should be brought forward, MPs have said.

A joint committee report urged the Government to determine the earliest date that manufacturers must only sell alternatively fuelled vehicles (AFVs) in the UK.

It also called for the car industry to contribute to a new clean air fund.

The unprecedented joint inquiry was launched amid concerns over the Government's air quality plans, which have repeatedly been successfully challenged in the courts by environmental groups.

Air pollution causes an estimated 40,000 premature deaths a year in the UK and is linked to health problems from childhood illnesses to heart disease and even dementia.