Former West Norfolk MP Liz Truss sends legal letter to prime minister Sir Keir Starmer demanding he stops saying she ‘crashed economy’

A former West Norfolk MP has sent a legal letter to the prime minister to demand he stops saying she “crashed the economy”.

Liz Truss, the former prime minister, has claimed Sir Keir Starmer’s statements about her impact on the economy during her short-lived stint in Downing Street are defamatory and “false and misleading.”

The six-page letter also blames the comments for her election loss in July, when she was toppled from her South West Norfolk seat at the general election – a Tory stronghold for decades – saying this would have “materially impacted public opinion”.

However, Sir Keir and Labour have said they will not be abiding by her wishes, vowing not to “cease and desist from the truth”.

Ms Truss, who became prime minister in September 2022, announced her resignation less than seven weeks later following a mini-budget in which she announced wide-ranging tax cuts.

The letter – sent by lawyers at Asserson – refers to comments made by Sir Keir in June 2024 in which he talked about Ms Truss “crashing” or having “crashed” the economy.

“Of particular concern are the false and defamatory public statements you made about our client in the lead-up to the UK general election from late May 2024,” it reads.

“At a time when you knew or ought to have known that those statements were false; and the statements were likely to materially impact public opinion of our client whilst she was standing as the parliamentary candidate for the Conservative Party in South West Norfolk”.

Her lawyers argue that the market movement during her premiership between September and October 2022 should not be classified as “crashing the economy”.

They also suggest that Sir Keir’s repetition of the claims in the lead-up to last year’s general election “gives rise to a strong inference” they were intended to “damage our client’s reputation and/or for political purposes”.

When questioned about the cease and desist letter in the Commons on Thursday, treasury minister Darren Jones said: “It was a direct connection between the hubris and the ego and the lack of focus on working people that Conservative ministers took when they were in government last time that ruined the lives of people across this country.

“I say that today, I’ll say every single day because the British people must never forget the recklessness of the Conservative Party.”