More than three million people will not get a tax cut in April after Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, delayed a shake-up of National Insurance by 12 months.

The policy, which was first unveiled by Mr Hammond’s predecessor George Osborne in 2016, would have seen 3.6million self-employed workers paying less in National Insurance.

The change comes just weeks before his Autumn Budget and after Mr Hammond had to drop an increase to class 4 NICs after an outcry following the last Budget in March.

Mr Hammond said in March this year that he would press ahead with the plans to abolish "class 2" NICs, which are paid at a flat rate of £2.80 a week by anyone making profits of more than £5,965 a year.

He said then: “We will continue with the abolition of Class 2 NICs from April 2018. The cost of the changes I am announcing today will be funded by measures to be announced in the Autumn Budget.”

However the Chancellor said yesterday that the law to enact the changes - the National Insurance Contributions (NICs) Bill – will now be introduced next year which means that any changes will take effect from April 2019, not April 2018 as planned.