Liz Truss’s lawyers have sent a cease and desist letter to Sir Keir Starmer over his claims she “crashed the economy”.
The letter says Sir Keir has repeatedly claimed the former Conservative prime minister crashed the economy with the September 2022 mini budget is defamatory and will “likely continue to cause serious harm to her reputation”.
It focuses on the Labour leader’s claims made in June last year during the general election campaign, and says accusations she crashed the economy were made with the purpose of damaging public opinion of Ms Truss as she stood as a parliamentary candidate.
Ms Truss, who stepped down as prime minister in under two months in charge, lost the South West Norfolk seat she had held since 2010 to Labour’s Terry Jermy in last year’s election.
Sir Keir’s spokesman said the prime minister has no plans to “moderate his language” based on the letter.
He also questioned whether Ms Truss will be writing to the “millions of people up and down the country” who shared Sir Keir’s view.
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Image: The letter calls for Sir Keir Starmer to stop saying Liz Truss crashed the economy
The letter also says it is “false” to claim the mini budget crashed the economy and provides details of a definition of “crash of the economy” by Dr Andrew Lilico, an expert from right-wing thinktank the Institute of Economic Affairs and managing director of economic consultancy Europe Economics.
Market movement following the mini budget did not constitute a “crash”, the letter says, and accuses Sir Keir of displaying an “ignorance of basic economics” by doing so.
Following the mini budget, which included £45bn of unfunded tax cuts, the UK government’s long-term borrowing costs rose sharply by 0.3 percentage points over a day.
The pound then fell to record lows against the dollar, and there was another sharp rise in the cost of long-term government borrowing by 0.5 percentage points after then chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng hinted there would be further tax cuts.
This led to rising mortgage rates, with hundreds of products withdrawn, and an impact on UK pension funds.
What is a cease and desist letter?
A cease and desist letter demands the recipient immediately stop “unlawful activity”.
It is a serious warning and can be the first step towards starting court proceedings.
They often threaten severe legal actions if the recipient does not cease (stop) and desist (does not repeat).
This could include an application for an injunction – a court order to refrain someone from doing something.
Cease and desist letters normally state what action will be taken and the consequences if the demands are not met.
However, the letter from Liz Truss’s lawyers does not have any threat of legal action, just a request to cease and desist saying she crashed the economy and asks for Sir Keir to “refrain from causing any further damage to our client”.
Ms Truss’s lawyers blamed the interest rate changes on the Bank of England, “in particular by its poor handling of the liability-driven investment bonds (LDI) crisis, and its regulatory failures”.
It points out the Bank of England is independent of government and says: “Thus the relevant rate changes were not ’caused’ by our client.
“These facts were clear as early as May 2024, if not before.”
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‘Do you take any blame for your premiership?’
The letter argues there was “no rise in unemployment…no sustained loss of wealth”, and no “enduring economic impacts”.
It says Ms Truss and the mini budget did not play “a significant causal role in the financial market volatility of September/October 2022” and said almost everything, in fiscal terms, had been announced before the mini budget.
The letter requests Sir Keir “immediately cease and desist” from repeating she crashed the economy on an “amicable basis”.
“This request is made in the context of the basic levels of civility which is due between senior politicians, and we trust that you will respond accordingly,” the letter says.
Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Image: Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
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There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
Kemi Badenoch has not ruled out forming coalitions at a local level with Reform after the council elections next week.
Speaking to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, the Conservative leader did however categorically rule out a pact with Nigel Farage’s party on a national level.
“I am not going into any coalition with Nigel Farage… read my lips,” she said.
However, she did not deny that deals could be struck with Reform at a local level, arguing that some councils might be under no overall control and in that case, “you have to do what is right for your local area”.
“You look at the moment, we are in coalition with Liberal Democrats, with independents,” she said. “We’ve been in coalition with Labour before at local government level.
“They [councillors] have to look at who the people are that they’re going into coalition with and see how they can deliver for local people.”
She added: “What I don’t want to hear is talks of stitch-ups or people planning things before the results are out. They have to do what is right for their communities.”
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A total of 23 councils are up for grabs when voters go to the polls on Thursday 1 May – mostly in places that were once deemed Tory shires, until last year’s general election.
It includes 14 county councils, all but two of which have been Conservative-controlled, as well as eight unitary authorities, all but one of which are Tory.
Ms Badenoch has set expectations low for the Tories, suggesting they could lose all the councils they are contesting.
The last time this set of councils were up for election was in 2021, when the Conservative Party was led by Boris Johnson who was riding high from the COVID vaccine bounce.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Image: Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Image: Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.