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Liz Truss had accepted she would have to stand down even before she was told how many Tory MPs had submitted letters of censure against her, the chair of the supporters’ group has revealed. Sir Graham Brady suggested to the then prime minister he knew her time at No 10 was doomed and that she had decided not to play before explaining to him how unhappy the fans were – all of which made his job easier. “I was reaching for my phone when I got a message saying the prime minister has asked to see me,” the chairman of the 1922 Commission told the BBC. “When I went to see her with her chief of staff, Mark Fullbrook, she asked me the question. He said, “It’s too bad, isn’t it?” To which I replied, “Yes, it’s too bad.” “He asked the second question, ‘Do you think it’s recoverable?’ And I said “No, I don’t think it is.” And she replied that she didn’t either.” Ms Truss announced on October 20 that she would step down as prime minister after just 45 days in office, marked by turmoil. Her mini-budget with Kwasi Kwarteng sent markets into turmoil, threatening people’s pensions and costing him his job, and Home Secretary Suella Braverman resigned over a security breach. Liz Truss is the shortest Prime Minister in history (Getty Images) He was also accused of presiding over chaos when Labour’s opposition day vote on fracking was initially billed as a vote of confidence in the government, leading to claims Tory MPs were physically abused by colleagues in the election lobby. As more supporters spoke out, it became clear that Ms Truss could not keep their trust. Sir Graham continued: “I had the unique distinction of having these conversations with three prime ministers and in many ways it was the easiest, the simplest, because it had come to the same conclusion.” Sir Graham Brady announces the latest Tory leadership contest (PA Wire) By contrast, Boris Johnson was “still determined to carry on” the night before he announced his resignation in July, Sir Graham revealed. “He thought about it after that and called me early the next morning to say he had changed his mind,” she said.
