The introduction of motorway tolls is to be abandoned by the government to prevent a backlash from motorists, ministerial sources confirmed last night.

The issue is so politically sensitive that Downing Street has decided to rule it out for 10 years when it makes a statement on transport spending next week. The levies had the support of the Treasury and John Prescott, the deputy prime minister, who runs the transport department, and were endorsed by business on the basis that they would raise money and ease congestion.

The news is likely to be coupled with an announcement that the government has decided not to embark on a huge road building programme. It was stressed in Whitehall that while more money is to be spent, it will only be at agreed "hot spots " - places of extreme congestion.

Motorway tolls, together with the introduction, in the near future, of congestion charging in city centres, have been pressed on the prime minister by the Treasury and Mr Prescott. But Tony Blair has overruled them and opted for a cautious approach. In effect, this means a return to the status quo.

The introduction of tolls on some motorways, including the M1, M4 and M6, had formed part of the government's transport white paper published two years ago. But fear of upsetting middle-class voters in the lead up to the election has convinced ministers that it is better to scrap the plan for the foreseeable future.

Whitehall sources also said there will be no new road or motorway building over the decade, apart from the 40 schemes currently in the road building plan. Many are bypasses round towns.

The government will spend more on roads, but will identify what it calls "hot spots". It wants to combine road widening with improving public transport in congested areas.

Ministerial sources said the M25 will not be widened further in spite of increasing congestion in the stretch between Heathrow and Gatwick airports. The M6 could be widened, but only where there is bad congestion in the Midlands and around Manchester.

Ministers say they want to study the impact of the first privatised tolled motorway, the proposed Birmingham ring road, which will bypass the busy Midlands section of the M6, before deciding whether to extend the idea.

This rules out a decision for many years. Work has not even started on the Birmingham project, which Labour inherited from the Tories.

The revised plan will infuriate the roads lobby. Signs from the government had encouraged it to think that Labour was ready to sink more money into roads.

Ministers are to argue that they do not need the money which would have been collected from tolls to be spent on improving public transport. They believe they will eventually collect revenue from the introduction of congestion charging in large cities and towns. But the schemes will take some years to put into place and the first one may not be operating until 2005.

Mr Prescott has worked hard on winning over the chancellor, Gordon Brown, to congestion charging. This has produced Treasury forecasts that £1bn a year could be raised by local authorities from charging motorists to drive into city centres at peak hours. The money would be spent on transport improvements.

But ministerial sources were arguing yesterday that the timescale for the schemes is lengthening, and they may not be introduced by a new Labour government. Ken Livingstone, the mayor of London, is in favour of introducing charges, and Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds are among provincial cities studying them with various degrees of enthusiasm.