Summary

  • The prime minister and chancellor are resisting pressure to publish an independent verdict of their tax-cutting plans before late November

  • Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng met the head of Britain's independent financial forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility, after days of market turmoil

  • The PM told the OBR she values their "scrutiny", the Treasury said, but will not publish their fresh forecast before more economic plans are set out in November

  • Earlier, the pound hit $1.12 against the dollar - close to its level before Friday's mini-budget

  • The government's announcement last week had led to a slump in the value of the pound and a £65bn intervention from the Bank of England

  • Meanwhile, energy prices will rise for millions from tomorrow - but the increase is being cushioned by a government cap on the cost of energy per unit

Live Reporting

Edited by Dulcie Lee

  1. Re-cap: What happened on Thursday?

    Prime Minister Liz Truss leaves Downing Street. She is wearing a navy blue dress.Reuters
    • On Thursday morning, Prime Minister Liz Truss tried to defended last week's much-criticised mini-budget in a series of BBC local radio and TV interviews. She said the energy package and the tax-cutting measures would tackle high bills, reduce inflation by 5% and lead to long-term economic growth. Five key exchanges from those interviews are here.
    • For his part, Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng said the government would be sticking to those plans, and helping people with their energy bills. He also messaged fellow Tory MPs to call for their support.
    • The Bank of England stepped in earlier this week, announcing up to £65bn would be made available to buy government bonds, to try to help steady the economy. There was also criticism - former governor Mark Carney said the government's tax-cutting measures were "working at some cross-purposes" with the Bank.
    • The economic ups and downs have also had a political fallout. There is disquiet among Tory MPs while public polls show a gap is opening up for Labour over the Conservatives. A YouGov survey put that lead at an extreme 33 points, while others released on Thursday put Labour 21 and 17 points ahead of the government.

  2. Welcome

    Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of all the latest on the volatility in the UK economy following the government's mini-budget last week.

    Prime Minister Liz Truss and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng are set to meet with the head of the Office for Budget Responsibility, known as the OBR and the country's independent forecaster, to discuss the situation.

    It comes just a day before energy prices rise for most consumers with the introduction of a new cap.

    We'll be bringing all the latest news throughout the day.