Liz Truss says she has ‘absolutely no shame’ in performing tax cut U-turn
Liz Truss says she had “absolutely no shame” in performing a dramatic U-turn on the government’s plan to scrap the 45p higher rate of tax.
The prime minister told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby she “took the decision very rapidly” to axe the policy, which was “becoming a distraction” from the rest of the government’s economic agenda.
But Home Secretary Suella Braverman told a Conservative Party fringe event hosted by The Telegraph that she was “very disappointed” by the policy reversal, adding that “members of our own parliamentary party staged a coup, effectively”.
Responding to Ms Braverman’s remarks, Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary Simon Clarke also revealed that he objects to the U-turn, stating: “Suella speaks a lot of good sense, as usual.”
Ms Truss’s U-turn came on Monday morning – more than a week after the mini-budget on 23 September.
Politics Hub: Truss refuses to say if she trusts chancellor
The tax cut for the wealthiest 1% was one of a series of proposals in the government’s tax-cutting mini-budget that prompted turmoil in the markets over the past week, with the pound reaching record lows against the dollar.
The policy also received a bitter backlash from Tory MPs and the public, with Labour surging to opinion poll leads not seen since the early 2000s.
Ms Truss told Sky News that removing the 45p tax rate for those earning £150,000 or more “wasn’t a priority policy” for the government.
“I listened to people and I think there’s absolutely no shame in a leader listening to people and responding,” Ms Truss said. “And that’s the kind of person I am, and I’ve been totally honest and upfront with people.
“But everything I’ve done as prime minister is focused on helping people get through what is a very difficult winter and very difficult circumstances and putting our country on a stronger footing in the future.”
Announcing the U-turn yesterday, Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng said: “We have listened.”
In an earlier broadcast round on Tuesday morning, the PM repeated refused to say whether she trusted the chancellor following the 45p tax rate U-turn, instead saying the two work “very closely”.
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Truss swerves three chances to back chancellor
Ms Truss was also probed on whether she supports increasing benefits in line with inflation, replying that a decision “will be made in due course”.
Ms Truss is facing a fresh battle with Conservative MPs over a potential benefits squeeze and cuts to public spending, after already being forced into making a policy U-turn on her tax cuts yesterday.
The PM has not ruled out a real-terms cut to benefits.
Penny Mordaunt became the first cabinet minister to openly oppose the idea of not uprating benefits with inflation, telling Times Radio: “I’ve always supported – whether it’s pensions, whether it’s our welfare system – keeping pace with inflation. It makes sense to do so. That’s what I voted for before.”
The leader of the House of Commons added: “We want to make sure that people are looked after and that people can pay their bills. We are not about trying to help people with one hand and take away with another.”
But despite growing pressure to outline her position on the issue, Ms Truss reiterated numerous times on Tuesday morning that “no decision has been made”.
Read more:
First part of Truss’ reign is over – is there any way back?
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Should benefits rise with inflation?
Benefits are usually uprated in line with the consumer price index (CPI) rate of inflation from September, with the rise coming into effect the following April.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates that each percentage point rise in CPI adds £1.6 billion to welfare spending.
Speaking after Ms Truss’s interview round, former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said it “doesn’t make any sense” to not uprate benefits in line with inflation.
He told a Conservative party fringe event in Birmingham that he resigned as work and pensions secretary under former Conservative PM David Cameron in 2016 because the government had “lost the plot” over cuts to the welfare system and that it “would be a mistake to do that again”.
Earlier, Justice Secretary Brandon Lewis refused to give his position when asked about the government’s plans to uprate benefits on Sky News, telling Kay Burley: “There is a process around this that the Department for Work and Pensions, Chloe Smith, the secretary of state, works through.”
He said announcements will be made “over the autumn”, adding: “I’m not going to pre-judge what that will be.”
Reports of a “board-level orchestrated coup” at the BBC are “complete nonsense”, non-executive director Sir Robbie Gibb has told MPs.
Sir Robbie, whose position on the BBC board has been challenged by critics in recent weeks, was among senior leaders, including the broadcaster’s chair, Samir Shah, to face questions from the Culture, Media and Sport committee about the current crisis.
The hearing took place in the wake of the fallout over the edit of a speech by US President Donald Trump, which prompted the resignation of the corporation’s director-general and the chief executive of BBC News, and the threat of a lawsuit from the US president.
Former BBC editorial adviser Michael Prescott wrote the memo that was leaked. Pic: PA
Former editorial adviser Michael Prescott, whose leaked memo sparked the recent chain of events, also answered questions from MPs – telling the hearing he felt he kept seeing “incipient problems” that were not being tackled.
He also said Mr Trump’s reputation had “probably not” been tarnished by the Panorama edit.
During his own questioning, Sir Robbie addressed concerns of potential political bias – he left BBC News in 2017 to become then prime minister Theresa May’s director of communications, a post he held until 2019, and was appointed to the BBC board in 2021 by Boris Johnson.
BBC board member Sir Robbie Gibb appearing before the Culture, Media and Sport committee. Pic: PA
“I know it’s hard to marry the fact that I spent two years as director of communications for the government… and my genuine passion for impartiality,” he said.
“I want to hear the full range of views… I don’t want the BBC to be partisan or favour any particular way.”
Asked about reports and speculation that there has been a “board-level orchestrated coup”, Sir Robbie responded: “It’s up there as one of the most ridiculous charges… People had to find some angle.
“It’s complete nonsense. It’s also deeply offensive to fellow board members… people of great standing in different fields.”
He said his political work has been “weaponised” – and that it was hard as a non-executive member of the BBC to respond to criticism.
‘We should have made the decision earlier’
BBC chair Samir Shah also answered questions. Pic: PA
Mr Shah admitted the BBC was too slow in responding to the issue of the Panorama edit of Mr Trump, which had been flagged long before the leaked memo.
“Looking back, I think we should have made the decision earlier,” he said. “I think in May, as it happens.
“I think there is an issue about how quickly we respond, the speed of our response. Why do we not do it quickly enough? Why do we take so much time? And this was another illustration of that.”
Following reports of the leaked memo, it took nearly a week for the BBC to issue an apology.
Mr Shah told the committee he did not think Mr Davie needed to resign over the issue and that he “spent a great deal of time” trying to stop him from doing so.
Is director-general role too big for one person?
Tim Davie is stepping down as BBC director-general
Asked about his own position, Mr Shah said his job now is to “steady the ship”, and that he is not someone “who walks away from a problem”.
A job advert for the BBC director-general role has since gone live on the corporation’s careers website.
Mr Shah told the hearing his view is that the role is “too big” for one person and that he is “inclined” to restructure roles at the top.
He says he believes there should also be a deputy director-general who is “laser-focused on journalism”, which is “the most important thing and our greatest vulnerability”.
Earlier in the hearing, Mr Prescott gave evidence alongside another former BBC editorial adviser, Caroline Daniel.
He told the CMS committee that there are “issues of denial” at the BBC and said “the management did not accept there was a problem” with the Panorama episode.
Mr Prescott’s memo highlighted concerns about the way clips of Mr Trump’s speech on January 6 2021 were spliced together so it appeared he had told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to “fight like hell”.
‘I can’t think of anything I agree with Trump on’
Mr Trump has said he is going to pursue a lawsuit of between $1bn and $5bn against the broadcaster, despite receiving an official public apology.
Asked if the documentary had harmed Mr Trump’s image, Mr Prescott responded: “I should probably restrain myself a little bit, given that there is a potential legal action.
“All I could say is, I can’t think of anything I agree with Donald Trump on.”
He was later pushed on the subject, and asked again if he agreed that the programme tarnished the president’s reputation, to which he then replied: “Probably not.”
Read more:
Experts on why Trump might struggle to win lawsuit
Why are people calling for Sir Robbie Gibb to go?
Mr Prescott, a former journalist, also told the committee he did not know how his memo was leaked to the Daily Telegraph.
“At the most fundamental level, I wrote that memo, let me be clear, because I am a strong supporter of the BBC.
“The BBC employs talented professionals across all of its factual and non-factual programmes, and most people in this country, certainly myself included, might go as far as to say that they love the BBC.
He said he “never envisaged” the fallout that would occur. “I was hoping the concerns I had could, and would, be addressed privately in the first instance.”
Asked if he thinks the BBC is institutionally biased, he said: “No, I don’t.”
He said that “tonnes” of the BBC’s work is “world class” – but added that there is “real work that needs to be done” to deal with problems.
Mr Davie, he said, did a “first-rate job” as director-general but had a “blind spot” toward editorial failings.
Police have appealed for information after a man was charged with murdering two women and raping a third.
Simon Levy has been charged with murdering 53-year-old Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo who died on the Aylesbury Estate, south-east London, on 17 March, the Metropolitan Police said.
In September, Levy, of Beaufoy Road, Tottenham, north London, was charged with murdering 39-year-old Sheryl Wilkins who was found unresponsive in High Road, Tottenham, on 24 August.
He is also accused of grievous bodily harm with intent, non-fatal strangulation and two counts of rape against a third woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in Haringey, north London, on 21 January, police said.
The 40-year-old will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday charged with Ms Valencia-Trujillo’s murder.
Sheryl Wilkins was found unresponsive in High Road, Tottenham, on 24 August. Pic: Metropolitan Police
He is also due to appear at the Old Bailey on Wednesday for a plea and trial preparation hearing for the murder of Ms Wilkins.
Detectives believe there may be individuals who have information relevant to this investigation – or who are yet to report incidents which have directly impacted them – and are asking for people to come forward.
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