‘I know brighter days lie ahead’: Liz Truss bids farewell to Downing Street

Published

3 years ago

October 25, 2022

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Liz Truss has insisted “brighter days lie ahead” for the country as she gave her final speech before leaving Number 10.

Speaking outside Downing Street, Ms Truss, who has become the UK’s shortest serving prime minister after just seven weeks, wished Rishi Sunak “every success” as he takes the reins.

But she appeared to double down on her political philosophy, saying “Brexit freedoms” should allow taxes to be lower, and adding: “We simply cannot afford to be a low growth country”.

New PM – latest updates from Downing Street

“I am more convinced than ever that we need to be bold and confront the challenges that we face,” she said.

“As the Roman philosopher Seneca wrote, it’s not because things are difficult that we do not dare is because we do not dare that they are difficult.”

Ms Truss went to Buckingham Palace to officially offer her resignation to the King.

Just before 11am, the Royal Household confirmed the event had taken place and that King Charles was “graciously pleased to accept”.

Now the new leader of the Conservative Party, Mr Sunak, is meeting the King, where he will be asked to form a new government.

In her speech, the outgoing PM claimed her short-lived administration had “acted urgently and decisively on the side of hard working families and businesses” by reversing the rise in National Insurance and introducing help with energy bills over the winter.

But there was no apology after the economic chaos of recent weeks following her tax slashing mini-budget that ultimately let to her downfall.

Instead, she revealed she planned to stay in politics, “spending more time in my constituency and continuing to serve South West Norfolk from the backbenches”, before echoing the speech she made on entering Downing Street.

“Our country continues to battle through a storm, but I believe in Britain,” she said. “I believe in the British people and I know that brighter days lie ahead.”

Truss was forced to focus on principles, not achievements

Joe Pike

Political correspondent

@joepike

Liz Truss’s speech departing Downing Street was only slightly more memorable than the one she delivered on arrival.

With such an insubstantial legacy, she was forced to focus on her principles, rather than her achievements.

Ms Truss returned to her insistence that the UK “cannot afford to be a low growth country”, her belief in lower taxes, and also said: “Ukraine must prevail”.

She seemed to be attempting to argue that it was her boldness that brought her down – critics would argue it was a dangerous and irresponsible lack of political caution.

With echoes of Boris Johnson, Ms Truss quoted the Roman philosopher Seneca, saying: “It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare. It is because we do not dare that they are difficult.”

These Downing Street farewells are by their very nature laced with failure, but today there was no real acknowledgment of the disastrous nature of Ms Truss’s premiership.

In the three minute six second address, she did not apologise or show regret for the economic mess she has left for her successor, or indeed for millions of people across the country.

Instead she seemed to be offering advice to Mr Sunak – that he should be radical in delivering Brexit and changing the economic landscape of the UK.

Like Gordon Brown in 2010 and David Cameron in 2016, the Truss children (Frances, 16, and Liberty, 13) watched their mother speak outside Number 10 and joined her in meeting the monarch at Buckingham Palace.

Liz Truss said she will now be spending more time in her Norfolk constituency – a clear sign she is not expecting a role in Rishi Sunak’s cabinet.

Reports suggests she intends to “take a break” from frontline politics, but that of course is hardly her choice. Ms Truss toxic reputation means future prime ministers are unlikely to want her anywhere near their top teams.

Ms Truss won the keys to Number 10 at the start of September after a summer-long leadership contest to replace Boris Johnson.

She beat Mr Sunak with 57% of the votes from party members and promised them she would “deliver, deliver, deliver”.

The start of her premiership was dominated by the death of the Queen, with her attending tribute events across the country to support the new King and giving a reading at the monarch’s funeral.

But her time in office was defined by the mini-budget that sent markets into turmoil and the pound dropping at record rates.

Ms Truss tried to regain her authority by firing her Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng and replacing him with Jeremy Hunt, who within days had reversed nearly all her policies.

But after the resignation of her home secretary and chaos in parliament over a vote on fracking, she said she accepted she could no longer stay in post.

Mr Sunak was chosen to replace her by Tory MPs four days later, and will shortly become the country’s new prime minister.

World

Nine of Gazan doctor’s 10 children killed in Israeli strike on Khan Younis

Published

16 hours ago

May 24, 2025

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Nine of Gazan doctor's 10 children killed in Israeli strike on Khan Younis

Nine of a doctor’s 10 children have been killed in an Israeli missile strike on their home in Gaza, which also left her surviving son badly injured and her husband in a critical condition.

Warning: This article contains details of child deaths

Alaa Al Najjar, a paediatrician at Al Tahrir Clinic in the Nasser Medical Complex, was at work during the attack on her home, south of the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, on Friday.

Graphic footage shared by the Hamas-run Palestinian Civil Defence shows the bodies of at least seven small children being pulled from the rubble.

Rescuers can be seen battling fires and searching through a collapsed building, shouting out when they locate a body, before bringing the children out one by one and wrapping their remains in body bags.

In the footage, Dr Al Najjar’s husband, Hamdi Al Najjar, who is also a doctor, is put on to a stretcher and then carried to an ambulance.

The oldest of their children was only 12 years old, according to Dr Muneer Alboursh, the director general of Gaza’s health ministry, which is run by Hamas.

“This is the reality our medical staff in Gaza endure. Words fall short in describing the pain,” he wrote in a social media post.

“In Gaza, it is not only healthcare workers who are targeted – Israel’s aggression goes further, wiping out entire families.”

British doctors describe ‘horrific’ and ‘unimaginable’ attack

Two British doctors working at Nasser Hospital described the attack as “horrific” and “unimaginable” for Dr Al Najjar.

Speaking in a video diary on Friday night, Dr Graeme Groom said his last patient of the day was Dr Al Najjar’s 11-year-old son, who was badly injured and “seemed much younger as we lifted him on to the operating table”.

The strike “may or may not have been aimed at his father”, Dr Groom said, adding that the man had been left “very badly injured”.

Dr Victoria Rose said the family “lived opposite a petrol station, so I don’t know whether the bomb set off some massive fire”.

‘No political or military connections’

Dr Groom added: “It is unimaginable for that poor woman, both of them are doctors here.

“The father was a physician at Nasser Hospital. He had no political and no military connections. He doesn’t seem to be prominent on social media, and yet his poor wife is the only uninjured one, who has the prospect of losing her husband.”

He said it was “a particularly sad day”, while Dr Rose added: “That is life in Gaza. That is the way it goes in Gaza.”

Sky News has approached the Israeli Defence Forces for comment.

Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza began when the militant group stormed across the border into Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and abducting 251 others.

Israel’s military response has flattened large areas of Gaza and killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.

World

UN’s Antonio Guterres condemns ‘teaspoon’ of aid allowed into Gaza after dozens die in airstrikes

Published

1 day ago

May 24, 2025

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UN's Antonio Guterres condemns 'teaspoon' of aid allowed into Gaza after dozens die in airstrikes

The head of the UN has said Israel has only authorised for Gaza what amounts to a “teaspoon” of aid after at least 60 people died in overnight airstrikes.

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres said on Friday the supplies approved so far “amounts to a teaspoon of aid when a flood of assistance is required,” adding “the needs are massive and the obstacles are staggering”.

He warned that more people will die unless there is “rapid, reliable, safe and sustained aid access”.

Israel says around 300 aid trucks have been allowed through since it lifted an 11-week blockade on Monday, but according to Mr Guterres, only about a third have been transported to warehouses within Gaza due to insecurity.

The IDF said 107 vehicles carrying flour, food, medical equipment and drugs were allowed through on Thursday.

Many of Gaza’s two million residents are at high risk of famine, experts have warned.

Meanwhile, at least 60 people have been killed by Israeli airstrikes across Gaza overnight.

Ten people died in the southern city of Khan Younis, and deaths were also reported in the central town of Deir al-Balah and the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north, according to the Nasser, Al-Aqsa and Al-Ahli hospitals where the bodies were brought.

The latest strikes came a day after two Israeli embassy workers were killed in Washington.

The suspect, named as 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez from Chicago, Illinois, told police he “did it for Gaza”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney of fuelling antisemitism following the shootings.

The leaders of the UK, France and Canada are “on the wrong side of humanity and (…) history”, he said, after they threatened “concrete action” against Israel this week if it continues its “egregious” military operations in Gaza.

Mr Netanyahu also accused Sir Keir, Mr Macron and Mr Carney of siding with “mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers”.

But UK government minister Luke Pollard told Sky News on Friday morning he “doesn’t recognise” Mr Netanyahu’s accusation.

Earlier this week, Mr Netanyahu said he was recalling negotiators from the Qatari capital, Doha, after a week of ceasefire talks failed to bring results. A working team will remain.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251 others.

The militants are still holding 58 captives, around a third of whom are believed to be alive, after most of the rest were returned in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel’s offensive, which has destroyed large swaths of Gaza, has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.

World

’12 people’ injured in stabbing at Hamburg train station – as woman arrested

Published

1 day ago

May 23, 2025

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'12 people' injured in stabbing at Hamburg train station - as woman arrested

A woman has been arrested after 12 people were reportedly injured in a stabbing at Hamburg’s central train station in Germany.

An attacker armed with a knife targeted people on the platform between tracks 13 and 14, according to police.

They added that the suspect was a 39-year-old woman.

Officers said they “believe she acted alone” and investigations into the stabbing are continuing.

There was no immediate information on a possible motive.

The fire service said six of the injured were in a life-threatening condition, three others were seriously hurt, and another three sustained minor injuries, news agency dpa reported.

The attack happened shortly after 6pm local time (5pm UK time) on Friday in front of a waiting train, regional public broadcaster NDR reported.

A high-speed ICE train with its doors open could be seen at the platform after the incident.

Railway operator Deutsche Bahn said it was “deeply shocked” by what had happened.