Liz Truss news latest: PM arrives in Commons ahead of Jeremy Hunt’s statement

The reversal of almost all of Liz Truss’s economic policies was down to a coup by MPs, Labour’s Andrew Gwynne charged in the Commons.

He said: “We know the prime minister is now not in power. We know that there has been a coup.”

He went on: “We want to know from the prime minister why her economic plan has been trashed just weeks after it was announced.

“We want to know from her if she is sorry for the misery she has caused millions of people across this country.”

Penny Mordaunt, standing in for Ms Truss, denied there had been a coup and suggested Mr Gwynne was being dramatic.

Clip of Starmer mocking the prime minister for ducking the scrutiny of MPs after the government reversed almost all of her economic plan for the UK.

Senior Tory MP Mel Stride, Rishi Sunak’s campaign manager, says Jeremy Hunt “gets what needs to be done and is acting fast” after the U-turns on tax and the scaled-back energy plan.

Mr Hunt held a briefing with Tory MPs after his announcement on Monday morning. Another Sunak backer, Robert Halfon, said he was “really comforted” and “the direction of travel is great”.

One Tory critic of Liz Truss told the BBC’s Iain Watson it was like going to see a “psychotherapist” and there was confidence he could “sort out the mess”.

Prime minister Liz Truss was today accused of “hiding away” from scrutiny after she dodged questions in the House of Commons, sending Penny Mordaunt in her place.

There was loud and derisive laughter from Labour benches as Ms Mordaunt told MPs that the prime minister could not turn up to answer an urgent question on the economic crisis resulting from her botched mini-Budget because she was “detained on urgent business”.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said that Ms Truss should be showing leadership at this time, but told MPs: “The lady’s not for turning up.”

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Conservative MP and Leader of the House Penny Mordaunt is met with laughter from the opposition as she explains why Liz Truss can’t answer Labour’s urgent question.

Penny Mordaunt, replying to Labour’s urgent question, told the Commons: “The prime minister has taken the decision to appoint (Jeremy Hunt), one of the longest-serving and most experienced parliamentarians, as her chancellor.

“Their overriding priority is to restore financial stability in the face of volatile global conditions.

“We will take whatever tough decisions are necessary and have made changes to the growth plan, which the chancellor is waiting to update the House on as soon as this urgent question finishes.

Penny Mordaunt has responded to Keir Starmer’s urgent question about why Liz Truss sacked Kwasi Kwarteng.

Ms Mordaunt said: “The decision taken by our prime minister will have been a very tough one.

“Yet she has taken it, and she has done so because it is manifestly in the national interest that she did.

“She did not hesitate to do so because her focus is on the well-being of every one of our citizens. It was the right thing to do, and whether you agree with it or not, it took courage.”

“Where is the prime minister?” Keir Starmer asked, as he said, “The lady is not for turning…up.”

The Labour leader said Britain cannot get the stability it needs when it all gets is “grotesque chaos”.

The Commons bursts into laughter as Penny Mordaunt apologises for the prime minister’s absence, saying she is “detained in urgent business”.

Britons face their annual household energy bills rocketing to £4,000 from April after Liz Truss U-turned on her promise of two years of government support, experts have warned.

New chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced on Monday that the government could only guarantee its cap on the unit price of energy – designed to keep average bills at no more than £2,500 – for another six months.

Opposition parties, fuel poverty campaigners and union leaders said Ms Truss’s promise to protect families for two years “lies in tatters” – warning of a frightening “cliff edge” ahead in spring.