Liz Truss becomes shortest serving Prime Minister as she resigns
South West Norfolk MP Liz Truss has become the shortest serving Prime Minister after resigning following a calamitous few weeks.
The 47-year-old was under pressure from almost her first day in office, 44 days ago, after a disastrous uncosted mini-budget which sent the pound plummeting and interest rates soaring.
Speaking from a lectern in Downing Street, Ms Truss said she had told the King she was resigning as the leader of the Conservative Party.
There will now be a leadership election to be completed within the next week she said, after speaking to the leader of the 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady, in No 10.
It comes just a little over 24 hours after she told MPs she was a “fighter, not a quitter”.
Three weeks after starting as PM, she sacked Chancellor and close friend Kwasi Kwarteng and replaced him with centrist Jeremy Hunt.
Letters of no confidence began piling up in the 1922 Committee chairman Graham Brady's in tray.
Yesterday, Suella Braverman sensationally resigned, becoming the shortest serving Home Secretary since the war.
The exact reason for her departure was unclear. Her letter to Ms Truss pointed to a breach of the rules after she accessed confidential emails from a personal phone but sources suggested there had been a blazing 90-minute row between the pair over student visas.
In her resignation letter she made thinly veiled digs at Ms Truss, criticising the direction of the government especially on issues relating to immigration and Channel crossings.
Former transport secretary Grant Shapps replaced her. Less than two weeks ago he'd warned Truss' days were numbered unless she got a grip on the economic situation.
Then, in a farcical vote last night Tory MPs were first told they had to vote against Labour's motion to ban fracking, then that they didn't and then that they did again.
The Chief Whip and Deputy Chief Whip resigned and then unresigned, the latter allegedly saying: "I am f****** furious and I don't give a f*** anymore."
Other MPs were reportedly manhandled through the lobby, some in tears. Jacob Rees-Mogg and Thérèse Coffey denied they were involved.
But in the chaos not even Ms Truss voted. She'd reportedly chased after Chief Whip Wendy Morton, losing her security guards and her position in the queue in the process.
In the aftermath, backbencher of 17 years Charles Walker said: “This is an absolute disgrace. As a Tory MP of 17 years who’s never been a minister, who’s got on with it loyally most of the time, I think it’s a shambles and a disgrace. I think it is utterly appalling. I’m livid.”
The government actually won the vote by 230 votes to 326.
At lunch time today, Mr Brady was seen entering Downing Street, viewed by many as a sign Ms Truss' remarkable tenure was coming to an end.
After the meeting with Mr Brady, which Ms Coffey and Tory chairman Jake Berry also attended, it was announced a press conference would take place at 1.30pm.
