The prime minister was pressed on the controversial subject of fracking during one of her radio interviews this morning, she said fracking will only go ahead if there is "local consent".

Speaking to BBC Radio Lancashire's Graham Liver, Liz Truss said the energy secretary will be laying out in more detail what this would look like.

Listen to the exchange below.

Dearbail Jordan
Business reporter

Some in the financial markets are not reassured by Liz Truss doubling down on her commitment to the government's debt-fuelled economic growth plan.

The cost of borrowing on 10-year gilts - which are basically bonds or IOUs issued by the government to borrow money - rose to 4.2% after Truss made her comments following last Friday's mini-budget.

To put that in context, the cost of government borrowing one year ago was just 1%.

The pound continues to flutter around $1.08, which is where it reached yesterday when the Bank of England said it would step in to calm market turmoil. An improvement from a record low against the dollar it hit on Monday but still weak.

Screens showing the equity markets are awash with red with both the FTSE 100 and the FTSE 250 indexes trading sharply lower.

Pete Saull
Political Correspondent, BBC Westminster

The BBC local radio round has been a pre-conference tradition for political party leaders for many years - a chance to speak directly to voters.

Theresa May once described it to me as being a bit like "speed dating".

But Liz Truss definitely didn't find love this morning. It was, at times, a bruising experience for the new incumbent of No 10.

Presenter after presenter put the concerns of their listeners direct to the prime minister.

Questions included: "Where have you been? Are you ashamed? How much suffering is enough?"

Truss kept going back to the support her government has announced on energy bills, while suggesting that the falling value of the pound and rising interest rates were the result of "global" factors.

But BBC Radio Nottingham's Sarah Julian summed up the feelings of her audience: "People were worried whether they could heat their homes. They're now worried whether they can keep their homes."

The PM now faces a series of face-to-face TV interviews with the BBC's regional political editors, with the footage released later this afternoon.

This, like the local radio round, will be far from a walk in the park.

A little more now from the prime minister's interview with BBC Radio Kent earlier.

Liz Truss said the UK government remained committed to its relocation scheme to send migrants to Rwanda.

The Rwanda plan, announced in April, intends to take some asylum seekers who enter the UK by crossing the English Channel to Rwanda instead.

The first flight of the Rwanda plan was brought to a halt when the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) intervened - which led to new challenges in the courts.

Speaking to Radio Kent, Truss said the government would make sure British courts couldn't be overruled by the ECHR.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman is "determined to get on" with dealing with the small boats crisis, Truss said.

There's been a steady growth in recent years in migrants attempting the dangerous journey across the English Channel in small boats. Earlier this month, the number of crossings so far this year exceeded the total for 2021.

Faisal Islam
BBC Economics Editor

The strategy from the government is that there will be no changes to Friday’s mini-budget.

They believe that the fleshing out of economic reforms, so-called “supply-side reforms” - to planning, energy, childcare, worker visas - will persuade markets that UK growth will accelerate.

The combination of these reforms over the next few weeks and a medium-term plan to reduce the national debt, with “iron discipline” on existing spending plans, will, they argue, turn things around.

The “fiscal surprise” on Friday was “small”, a reference to the £2bn value of the scrapping of the 45p tax rate. The recession will be considerably shorter because of the energy plan.

That is what is underpinning the offensive from the PM and cabinet this morning. If it works, the markets will realise that they were wrong about Friday’s announcements, and the situation will recover.

If it does not work there will be weeks of uncertainty as currency and borrowing markets continue to move wildly in response to every announcement, rumour of a statement or piece of economic data.

The PM has defended the fairness of tax cuts in last week's mini-budget, announced by Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng.

Speaking to BBC Radio Nottingham, Liz Truss said it wasn't "fair to have a recession" or for people to not "get high paying jobs in the future".

Few words of reassurance from PM over economic worriespublished at 09:28 British Summer Time 29 September 2022

09:28 BST 29 September 2022

Leila Nathoo
BBC political correspondent

Eight different interviews with eight different personalities within an hour - a punishing morning schedule for a prime minister who’s so far been silent this week amid the fallout of her government’s mini-budget.

As presenter after presenter pressed her about the concerns of their listeners, Liz Truss tried to remain composed as she defended her economic approach but at times she lapsed into uncomfortable laughter and there were a number of awkward pauses.

She wanted to focus attention away from tax cuts and on to the energy bill support package – insisting growth would follow - albeit, she admitted, not overnight.

There was a difficult encounter over fracking with BBC Radio Lancashire but the Prime Minister was mainly under pressure over the economy.

She had few words of reassurance for listeners with real worries now – instead her message was, it’s necessary and the situation will be better for all in the long run.

Prime Minister Liz Truss has been speaking to BBC local radio stations this morning, defending Friday's mini-budget.

If you’re just joining us, here’s a quick round-up:

• In her first comments on market turmoil since Friday's announcements, Truss defended her plans to cut taxes and increase borrowing - saying “we had to take decisive action”
• The prime minister also said the government was working to protect people from high energy costs and was prepared to take “controversial and difficult decisions” to get the economy moving
• She denied that the tax cuts were solely benefiting the wealthy, saying that “simply isn’t true” and insisted that she was pursuing the “right plan”
• Responding to concerns over pension funds following Friday's announcements, Truss said the Bank of England does a “very good job” of looking after pensions
• The prime minister said her energy package will help reduce overall inflation, which will subsequently reduce food prices as well
• Discussing fracking, the PM said her government would only press ahead in areas “where there is local community support”

Follow here as we continue to bring you further updates and reaction.

Dharshini David
Economics Correspondent

It was 1980 when Margaret Thatcher coined the phrase “the lady’s not for turning” in response to opposition to her economic plans.

Liz Truss took the same stance in her first interviews since the market turmoil that followed Friday's “mini-Budget”.

There was no sign of a reversal, even partial, of the £45bn worth of tax cuts that have caused such market consternation.

Nor an acknowledgment of that turmoil or the actions the Bank of England had to take - let alone any hint of criticism for her chancellor.

Instead there was a doubling-down on plans, an emphasis on the package to ease the hike in energy bills.

Which - with the markets so jumpy - means analysts aren’t ruling out an emergency interest rate hike.

We've just heard from Liz Truss on BBC Radio Stoke - the last of her regional radio interviews this morning.

"I want the average salary in Stoke to go up," she declares, in response to a question of whether her proposed tax cuts will make the poorest in society poorer, and the wealthiest even wealthier.

Tax policy is about "how we grow the size of the pie so that everyone can benefit," she says.

On rising food prices, Truss says her energy package will help reduce overall inflation, which will help reduce food prices as well.

"Farmers, people that produce food, have energy going into their production so it will help reduce prices overall," she explains.

Asked why she does not plan to introduce a windfall tax on gas and energy firms, Truss repeats her view that this would "put off people investing in our country".

You can catch the last of Lis Truss's interviews with English local radio stations on BBC Radio Stoke now.

Speaking to BBC Radio Bristol, the prime minister continues to stand by her government's fiscal policies.

After being quizzed on whether people's pensions are safe, she says the Bank of England has stepped in and does a "very good job" of looking after pensions.

She insists again that the economic problems facing the UK are a result of global factors, such as the war in Ukraine - not as a result of government policy.

Liz Truss has been speaking to BBC local radio stations this morning - we're now tuning in to BBC Radio Bristol for her latest comments.

We’ve just heard from Prime Minister Liz Truss on BBC Radio Tees.

Truss reiterated her position that as prime minister she has to be "prepared to take tough decisions".

She defended the government’s “decisive action” to help families and businesses with energy bills this winter.

“If we have higher taxes going into difficult economic times that is likely to lead to a recession,” she said.

“I want people to stay in jobs and earn higher wages.”

These are her first public comments since last Friday's mini-budget, which was followed by market turmoil.

The PM's interviews with BBC local radio stations continue - catch her on BBC Radio Tees now.

Next up, Liz Truss is interviewed on BBC Radio Nottingham.

The PM continues her defence of the government's mini-budget, saying the energy package is likely to reduce inflation and increase economic growth.

She reiterates the government has taken decisive action to help people with energy bills.

And Truss says it "simply isn't true" that the tax cuts announced on Friday will benefit higher earners.

"The biggest part of the package that we announced is the support on energy bills, making sure that people across this country are not facing energy bills of more than £2,500 and the businesses can get through this winter," she says.

She adds that it's not "fair" to have a recession or to not have high-paying jobs in the future because "we've got the highest tax burden in 70 years".

Liz Truss is making her first public comments since last Friday's mini-budget - and the subsequent economic fallout - and can now be heard on BBC Radio Nottingham.

Ms Truss is now speaking to BBC Radio Lancashire, a county which currently has the only fracking operation in the UK.

"We will only press ahead with fracking in areas where there is local community support," she says.

She says the UK has become dependent on global energy prices, which have risen due to the war in Ukraine, and "we simply do not want to be in that position".

She says fracking carried out in various parts of the world is "perfectly safe".

Speaking on local BBC radio outlets this morning, Prime Minister Liz Truss says "we had to take decisive action".

She said that as prime minister, she was prepared to make "controversial and difficult decisions".

Prime Minister Liz Truss is now being interviewed on BBC Radio Lancashire - with an initial focus on the topic of fracking.