We're now hearing Liz Truss on BBC Radio Kent.

Asked if she is ashamed about the state of the economy following the measures set out by the chancellor on Friday, she says it's important to remember the situation the UK was facing with high energy bills and inflation.

She says the government's action on high energy bills will reduce inflation by 5% this winter.

She says the government is working closely with the Bank of England and she is "very clear the government has done the right thing" by taking action "to deal with inflation, to deal with the economic slowdown and to deal with the high energy bills".

More now from the PM, who says the plan set out in last Friday's fiscal statement is "the right plan".

"This is about making sure that people are going into the winter not worried about ultra high fuel bills," she tells the BBC.

"It was simply unconscionable that we could have allowed that to happen.

"It’s also important that we’re taking steps to improve growth levels in the economy."

She says if steps are not taken to grow the economy, the UK will not see high paid jobs and investment.

"There are many people with many different opinions but what I think nobody is arguing with is we had to take action with what is a very difficult economic situation," Truss adds.

"It is important the UK is on the front foot, we are pulling all the levers we can to drive economic growth."

She says the challenges facing the UK have been caused by the war in Ukraine, adding: "It's not just Britain facing difficulties, this is a global problem."

Prime Minister Liz Truss will now appear on BBC Radio Kent - you can listen here.

On this page, we'll continue to bring you her latest comments on the UK's economic turmoil.

The prime minister tells BBC Radio Norfolk that her priority is supporting the British people through a difficult winter, when they're worried about "ultra-high fuel bills".

Defending last Friday's mini-budget, she says avoiding a projected economic slowdown meant it was important the government took action quickly.

“Of course there are elements of controversy, as there always are," she adds.

Challenged with critical comments from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), she says: "What nobody is arguing with is that we had to take action".

She adds: "This is the right plan that we've set out."

Next, Liz Truss is on BBC Radio Norfolk - listen to her here.

She's completing a round of media interviews - her first public comments since last Friday's mini-budget.

More from the prime minister in her interview with BBC Radio Leeds.

She says the government is working closely with the Bank of England on its fiscal plans.

We're facing difficult economic times, Truss says, and that is being experienced globally.

"The important thing is the British government acted to protect people from these high energy costs, to make sure we're getting the economy going," she says.

Liz Truss has defended her mini-budget from last Friday, telling BBC Radio Leeds: "We had to take decisive action."

She says the measures were necessary to "get the economy moving" and "deal with inflation".

These are her first comments on market turmoil since the announcements.

She concedes that "growth won't come through overnight".

Listen to her interview here.

We will be hearing shortly on the BBC from Prime Minister Liz Truss in her first media comments since last week's mini-budget. In a long-standing commitment, she will be appearing across BBC local radio stations from 08:00 BST. You can listen to her on BBC Sounds - she's appearing first on BBC Radio Leeds.

Mark Carney also tells the BBC that it is important for budgets to have "expert and independent" scrutiny, in reference to the lack of a forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility - which normally accompany budgets.

Carney adds: "To some extent, I don’t know why it sounds unusual that you actually want to know the numbers in a budget - after all, that is what a budget is - and understand the forecasts underpinning those numbers and then make your own judgements about whether those are plausible."

More now from Mark Carney, who tells the BBC's Today programme that the government's objective to increase growth in the UK economy is the "right one", but he says there are a number of concerns.

He lists them as follows:

• An undercutting of institutions, such as the lack of an OBR forecast
• Working at cross-purposes with the Bank of England
• Real measures which are going to drive growth being left out of statement

"Unfortunately having a partial budget in these circumstances... has led to quite dramatic moves in financial markets," he adds.

Former Bank of England governor Mark Carney says the UK's monetary policy and fiscal policy have been working at "cross-purposes".

He tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme that monetary policy has needed to be tight because of inflation challenges, but fiscal policy was being loosened "quite considerably".

"But also loosened in a way that leads to substantial uncertainty about the actual stance of that policy because we didn’t get all of the information," he adds.

The Bank of England has said it would buy £65bn of government bonds on a temporary basis to help "restore orderly market conditions" after Friday's mini-budget prompted turmoil on financial markets and the pound plunged.

BBC Economics Editor Faisal Islam explains the bank's move.

Image source, Reuters

Lib Dems leader Ed Davey is calling for next week's Conservative Party Conference to be cancelled and for Parliament to be recalled.

"The government has got to calm the situation, it's got to reverse the huge mistakes it made last Friday," he tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"There are millions of people now who are scared, they're terrified about what's happening.

"This is a crisis of the government's making."

He adds that he would reverse the income tax cuts on top earners and the corporation tax cut, instead calling on an increase to the windfall tax on energy providers.

He tells the programme that there needs to be an early election, adding: "Before an election is held, this current crisis needs to be dealt with."

Image source, .

Most of today's front pages feature the £65bn package announced by the Bank of England on Wednesday to help calm Britain's markets.

The Guardian says , externalthe emergency move was needed to halt what it calls a "doom loop" in the bond markets.

The Sun says , externalmarkets were spooked by the decision to cut taxes for the richest, but that Prime Minister Liz Truss and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng have "inexplicably left a void for critics to fill" by not providing independent forecasts.

The Times describes , externalthe Bank's action as highly unusual and says economists are warning the decision to buy billions of pounds of government debt could fuel inflation.

According to the i, external, Ms Truss and Mr Kwarteng now face "Tory fury".

The Telegraph says , externalit has been told by a former Tory cabinet minister that the pair are pursuing a "cowboy-style economic policy".

Read more here.

The Bank of England is "fighting a battle on two fronts", a former member of its Monetary Policy Committee says.

Economist Andrew Sentance says the government needs to set out its longer term strategy for borrowing rather than wait until November, adding that the chancellor "should have had them in his back pocket" when making the announcement last Friday.

"Frankly, I think that's not helping the situation, it just contributes to the nervousness," he tells BBC Breakfast.

"Interest rates are rising anyway because the bank needs to contain inflation.

"It’s now fighting a battle on two fronts because it’s having to counter this nervousness from the financial markets at the same time."

Friday's fiscal statement was a "policy mistake of unbelievable proportions", says Bill Blain, head of alternative assets at financial firm Shard Capital.

Mr Blain tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme that had the Bank of England not stepped in, it was possible that £1tn could have been wiped from pension funds.

"We could have had a run on investment institutions similar to the kind of run we saw in banks way back in 2008," he says.

"The bank stepped in and opened up its buying window and they've averted a crisis.

"These consequences of last Friday's policy mistake will continue."

An economist credited as being one of the architects of the measures laid out in last week's mini-budget has criticised the chancellor for failing to warn the markets about its contents.

Gerard Lyons told BBC Two's Newsnight that the mini-budget had some “very positive components aimed at… the pro-growth agenda” but it also announced tax changes that the markets “had not been prepared for”.

“Ahead of the mini-budget, it was necessary for the chancellor to keep financial markets on-side, and I warned about the need for him to do this," he said.

"But what we saw was that the chancellor appealed to a domestic population, he appealed to the domestic business community, but one key group he failed to keep on-side was the financial markets."

Image source, Getty Images

Former Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has accused the government of "undercutting" the UK's economic institutions.

In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Carney says the government's tax-cutting measures were "working at some cross-purposes" with the Bank.

He says: "Unfortunately having a partial Budget, in these circumstances - tough global economy, tough financial market position, working at cross-purposes with the Bank - has led to quite dramatic moves in financial markets."

Referring to the absence of an OBR forecast, he says: "I don't understand why it seems unusual that you actually want to know the numbers in a budget, after all that is what a budget is, and understand the forecasts underpinning those numbers.

"And then make your own judgements about whether those are plausible. It's important to have it open to independent and dare I say expert scrutiny. That's the system that's been put in place."

On whether Bank should raise rates early, Carney says:

On whether spending cuts are necessary, he says:

• Listen to the Today programme between 06:00 and 09:00 BST on BBC Sounds

Peter Hoskins
Business reporter in Singapore

Image source, Getty Images

Stock markets in Asia and the US have risen after the Bank of England said it would buy £65bn of UK government bonds.

The announcement came after Friday's mini-budget sparked financial market turmoil and the pound plunged.

Investors also demanded higher returns on government bonds, or "gilts," causing some to slide in value.

Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng index was 1.25% higher, while Australia's ASX 200 rose by 1.8% and South Korea's Kospi gained 1.4%.

That came after New York's main stock indexes rebounded from a six-day losing streak to end Wednesday's trading day around 2% higher.

In morning Asia trade, the pound was 0.8% lower at $1.08, after earlier making strong gains on the Bank of England's bond-buying announcement.

Analysts said the Bank's pledge had helped to calm market volatility.

Read the full story here.