Liz Truss 'disaster' mini-budget reference removed from King's Speech after former PM complained

July 17, 2024

References to Liz Truss's "disaster" mini-budget have been removed from documents related to the King's Speech after the former prime minister complained to the Cabinet Office.

The ex-Tory MP, who lost her seat in the general election two weeks ago, wrote to the cabinet secretary Simon Case on Wednesday, claiming officials had breached the civil service code for "repeated references personally to me and actions undertaken by my government in the context of a political attack".

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The documents included a description of the mini-budget as "a lesson in how not to do fiscal policy", as well as saying measures to strengthen the role of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) in the King's Speech were being introduced to "ensure that the mistakes of Liz Truss's 'mini-budget' cannot be repeated".

Ms Truss said the references to the fiscal event, which led to turmoil in the markets after her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced a raft of unfunded spending cuts, were "untrue" and had "no place in a document prepared by civil servants".

And she called for an investigation into how they were allowed to be added, as well as for the references to be removed and "suitable admonishment for those responsible".

Speaking to Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge, Labour's Leader of the House Lucy Powell said she believed they had been taken out, as the briefing was a "civil service document" rather than a political one.

And later, a spokesperson for the Cabinet Office confirmed it, telling Sky News: "The Cabinet Secretary has responded to Liz Truss and directed for these references to be removed from the document.

"They have now been corrected and updated."

Sky News has approached Ms Truss for comment.

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