Liz Truss’s government went “too far, too fast” with its mini-Budget, the new chancellor has said after he was drafted into the role to steady the markets. The prime minister on Friday sacked her now former Treasury chief Kwasi Kwarteng and reversed sweeping tax cuts after weeks of financial turmoil. In a statement released late on Saturday, chancellor Jeremy Hunt said his focus was “on growth underpinned by stability.” He continued: “The drive on growing the economy is right – it means more people can get good jobs, new businesses can thrive and we can secure world class public services. But we went too far, too fast.” It comes after Mr Hunt earlier said medium-term fiscal plan on 31 October will now “pretty much” be delivering a “full budget”. In other news, Bank of England warned of higher interest rates than expected next month in a bid to tackle inflation. Speaking in Washington this morning, the Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey said: “As things stand today, my best guess is that inflationary pressures will require a stronger response than we perhaps thought in August.” He added that the Bank “will not hesitate” to raise interest rates to curb inflation.”

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Biden calls Liz Truss’s economic plan ‘a mistake’

US president Joe Biden said he was not the only one who thought British prime minister Liz Truss’ original economic plan was “a mistake”. “The idea of cutting taxes on the super-wealthy at a time when – anyway, I just think, I disagree with policy but it’s up to Great Britain to make that judgment, not me,” he said while speaking to reporters at an ice cream shop in Oregon. “I’m not concerned about the strength of the dollar. I’m concerned about the rest of the world,” the US president said. Vishwam Sankaran16 October 2022 05:01 1665885643

Spending cuts of up to £40bn expected after Liz Truss announcement

Prime minister Liz Truss today confirmed for the first time that her tax cuts will require reductions in public spending plans – estimated by one leading economic think tank at up to £40bn. Read more on this story from our political editor Andrew Woodcock here:

Spending cuts of up to £40bn expected after Liz Truss announcement

U-turns have filled less than half the £62bn ‘black hole’ created by Kwasi Kwarteng Emily Atkinson16 October 2022 03:00 1665882043

Editorial: For the time being, Liz Truss has saved her political life – but at what cost?

For the time being at least, the prime minister has indeed saved her political life, but at some considerable cost to herself, and with rather more damage inflicted on her old friend, soulmate and ally, Kwasi Kwarteng. He is, though, far from an innocent party in this farce. It was his sheer, unnecessary arrogance that led to much of the mess.

Editorial: Liz Truss has saved her political life for now – but at what cost?

Editorial: The prime minister has the great good fortune that her enemies are divided about whom they want to lead the party and what they want that person to do Emily Atkinson16 October 2022 02:00 1665878443

Watch: Comedian parodies Liz Truss’ speech over U-turn

Comedian parodies Liz Truss’ speech over U-turn Emily Atkinson16 October 2022 01:00 1665874843

‘Send off the clowns’: Labour attacks government with scathing new posters

Labour party is looking to capitalise on the government choas with a series of new adverts as it gears up for the next general election. In four scathing postersLabour attacks the Conservatives for damaging the UK’s standing on the world stage, hiking mortgages and crashing the economy. It comes after a disastrous week for prime minister Liz Truss, whose authority has been left severely damaged by her decision to sack chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng and U-turn on planned tax cuts. Here are the four posters: (PA) (PA) (PA) (PA) Emily Atkinson16 October 2022 00:00 1665873306

Jeremy Hunt says PM went ‘too far, too fast’ on tax cuts

Liz Truss’s government went “too far, too fast” with its mini-Budget, the new chancellor said after he was drafted into the role to steady the markets. The prime minister yesterday sacked her now former Treasury chief Kwasi Kwarteng and reversed sweeping tax cuts after weeks of financial turmoil. In a statement released late on Saturday, chancellor Jeremy Hunt said his focus was “on growth underpinned by stability.” “The drive on growing the economy is right – it means more people can get good jobs, new businesses can thrive and we can secure world class public services. But we went too far, too fast. “We have to be honest with people and we are going to have to take some very difficult decisions both on spending and on tax to get debt falling, but at the top of our minds when making these decisions will be how to protect and help struggling families, businesses and people. “I will set out clear and robust plans to make sure government spending is as efficient as possible, ensure taxpayer money is well spent and that we have rigorous control over our public finances.” Emily Atkinson15 October 2022 23:35 1665869952

Good evening. We are pausing our live politics updates for the evening. Join us again tomorrow. Emily Atkinson15 October 2022 22:39 1665869449

Tomorrow’s front pages trained on Truss

Emily Atkinson15 October 2022 22:30 1665865605

Miriam Margolyes says ‘f*** you, bastard’ live on Radio 4’s Today programme over Jeremy Hunt

Miriam Margolyes broke the first rule of radio this morning (Saturday 15 October) as she said “f*** you” live on the Today programme. The actor was reacting to seeing the new chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, in the BBC Radio 4 studio, when she swore. “When I saw him there,” she told the hosts Justin Webb and Martha Kearney, as she was finishing her interview, “I said, ‘You’ve got a hell of a job, best of luck.’ And what I really want to say was, ‘F*** you, bastard.’ But you cant say that.”

Miriam Margolyes says ‘f*** you, bastard’ live on Radio 4’s Today over Jeremy Hunt

‘Oh no, no, no, you mustn’t say that. We’ll have to have you out of the studio now,’ said presenter Justin Webb Emily Atkinson15 October 2022 21:26 1665863433

Liz Truss’ intermediaries contacted Sajid Javid last week to assess his appetite to replace Kwasi Kwarteng in the Treasury, The Sunday Times reports. The newspaper claims that the former chancellor’s requirments for his return were, however, too steep for the prime minister. “Sajid would have only done it if he had complete control,” one ally of Mr Javid said. According to three souces, the former health secretary had insisted on full autonomy over tax-and-spend policies and the freedom to appoint his own political team. He also demanded that Sir Tom Scholar, the veteran permanent secretary to the Treasury who was dramatically sacked by Mr Kwarteng and Ms Truss when they took office, be reinstated in his former role. Emily Atkinson15 October 2022 20:50