According to an AFP report, the British government is ditching plans to introduce a tax on Cornish pasties and hot snacks such as sausage rolls and pies after critics accused it of targeting working-class families.

The reports says the government has been embroiled in the row since March, when it announced plans to close a loophole allowing British bakeries to serve hot takeaway food without incurring 20 per cent tax.

The British government has since amended the definition of what constitutes a “hot” pastie, allowing it to perform the U-turn, the BBC reported.

Under the revised plans, food which is cooling down rather than being kept warm in a heated display cabinet will not be liable for VAT.

Treasury minister David Gauke told the BBC the department had “improved the policy, addressing practical concerns, ensuring that the new regime could be as simple as possible to apply”.

The AFP report said the issue had been an embarrassing sideshow for Prime Minister David Cameron, who has been forced to fend off implications that the tax highlights his lack of “common touch”.