Image source, Reuters

Many world leaders have sent their congratulations to Liz Truss. But not Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He says the way Liz Truss was elected as the UK’s new prime minister was “far removed from democratic principles”.

Speaking at the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok today, Putin says the new leadership will pursue policies set by the "ruling elites”.

When asked to comment on his expectations for Russia's relations with the UK under the new prime minister, Liz Truss, Putin says: "Look, Great Britain has a procedure for electing the head of state that is far removed from democratic principles.

“It takes place within the party that wins the preceding parliamentary election. The people of Great Britain in this case are not involved in the change of the cabinet.

"The ruling elites have their own policies. We know the Tories' position on these issues, including on relations with Russia. It is their business as to how to build relations with the Russian Federation.

"Our business is to defend our own interests, and we shall be consistently doing it. No-one should be in any doubt about that."

James FitzGerald
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

Thérèse Coffey is now the second most powerful person in the government, having been appointed deputy prime minister by her close friend Liz Truss. She's also been made the new health secretary.

One signal of their closeness is that Coffey was asked to perform the new cabinet's first morning broadcast round: a challenging task that involves touring TV and radio studios as a government spokesperson.

Coffey is sometimes described as an unconventional politician. She is known for enjoying the occasional cigar, Liverpool FC football matches, and karaoke nights with Truss. During this morning's appearance on LBC, her phone went off - playing a snippet of a track by rapper Dr Dre.

Brought up in Liverpool, Coffey has spoken of her political awakening during the 1980s, opposing the left-wing policies of Liverpool City Council.

She was elected to parliament at the same time as Truss; both won seats in East Anglia during the 2010 election. She represents the seat of Suffolk Coastal.

Coffey served as work and pensions secretary under Boris Johnson.

Her voting record on certain issues has recently come under renewed scrutiny. A practising Catholic, Coffey has previously voted against extending abortion care, saying earlier this year she would "prefer that people didn't have abortions but I am not going to condemn people that do".

And she was also among 133 Tories who voted in 2013 against the legalisation of same-sex marriage in England and Wales - later taking the same stance in a vote on Northern Ireland.

Nadine Dorries, the former culture secretary, has said "nothing ever goes wrong" in a department led by Coffey, and friends in Westminster cite the new deputy PM's tireless work ethic.

Coffey has already outlined a plan for the NHS, comprising what she calls an "ABCD" approach: prioritising ambulances, backlogs, care, doctors and dentistry.

Thérèse Coffey, the new health secretary and deputy prime minister, was perhaps so keen to stay on schedule ahead of the first cabinet meeting this morning that she had an alarm set on her phone.

And when it went off live on air during an interview with LBC, the song it played was not what you might expect from a government minister.

Her 08:00 alarm played Dr Dre's track Still D.R.E.

LBC’s Nick Ferrari was in the middle of asking her whether she was hoping to get one of the government's "grace and favour" country homes in her new job.

Ministers have now left No 10 after their meeting. So what are they likely to have discussed?

The cabinet consists of the prime minister, the chancellor of the exchequer and a team of 20 or so secretaries of state who lead on specific policy areas such as health, transport, foreign affairs or defence.

It generally meets once a week, usually on a Tuesday, and primarily in 10 Downing Street to discuss pressing issues of government.

The length of meetings varies and can depend on the style of the prime minister and political conditions.

During the meetings, ministers can argue freely in private but once a decision on a position has been reached, they are expected to present a united front.

The business of the cabinet mainly consists of questions that raise major issues of policy, are of critical importance to the public or on which there is an unresolved argument between departments.

Image source, Reuters

Here's the first sighting so far this morning of Liz Truss - she's gathered with her ministers inside the Cabinet Room.

Among those seated around the long table are Tom Tugendhat, a security minister in the Home Office, at the front right.

Truss is in further away in the photo on the left, next to Deputy Prime Minister Thérèse Coffey and opposite Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng.

Image source, Reuters

Others seated near the PM include Jacob Rees-Mogg, who has been given the role of business secretary, and Justice Secretary Brandon Lewis.

Image source, Reuters

NHS Providers is a membership organisation for the people running hospital services in England.

Its chief executive, Saffron Cordery, tells Radio 4's Today programme she looks forward to meeting new health secretary Therese Coffey as soon as possible to find "solutions to challenges we face right now".

Responding to a plan to free up space in hospitals by diverting money into social care, Cordery says she does want extra funding for social care "but not at the expense of the NHS".

Cordery goes on to discuss "longstanding" staffing issues in the NHS which require a "long-term approach" that goes beyond recruiting workers from abroad.

Asked about the prospect of a winter of strikes in the health service, Cordery admits that there's "significant disquiet out there", saying workers must be supported, and given the pay and conditions they need.

Image source, Getty Images

Yesterday, we heard Prime Minister Liz Truss' much anticipated first speech in the top job, where she set out her new regime's goals.

Some described it as direct and to the point, while others thought it was rather robotic.

Speaking about the speech and Truss' general communication style, former Prime Minister David Cameron's director of communications, Sir Craig Oliver, says, "I do actually think it's a bit of an issue".

"You do need to be clear that you're actually solving the issues of the country, but you also need to try and inspire."

Truss' style is "not necessarily a huge disadvantage... but I think it's quite hard when you're trying to bring people along with you, in very, very difficult times, not to have a little bit of inspiration too."

He adds that though social media has been a game changer that allows politicians to speak to the public directly, there's still tens of millions of people who get their news through TV and radio programmes, and so "you have to be able to do interviews and speeches well."

Image source, Pool

Former leadership contender Kemi Badenoch, the new international trade secretary, said this morning that she was "very excited" about her new cabinet role.

Speaking to reporters as she left her home, she added she was very happy about the appointment and would not be drawn on whether she was disappointed not to get the education brief - which went to Kit Malthouse.

And asked whether Truss can unite the Conservative Party as PM, Badenoch responded: "Yes, of course she can."

Chris Mason
Political editor

I’m told the announcement on support with energy bills - expected tomorrow - will be unveiled in the House of Commons.

The precise choreography is still being decided, but it is likely to involve the Prime Minister and the Business Secretary Jacob Rees Mogg, and a debate about the broader issues.

The government’s plan will be discussed in cabinet in the next few minutes.

The Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng will also discuss the government’s overall economic strategy with the Governor of the Bank of England today, as well as bank chief executives and leaders of other financial institutions.

Here's the scene in Downing Street as Liz Truss's new top team get ready for their first meeting.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, PA Media

The director general of the British Chambers of Commerce has also been sharing her thoughts this morning.

Shevaun Haviland says the government needs to move quickly to introduce support measures for businesses struggling with rising energy costs.

She wants the government to provide emergency grants for businesses to prevent them from shutting down completely.

“One of our manufacturers said because of their energy bills, cash flow is really difficult.

“That means they can't use cash to buy raw materials to make products even though they've got a really strong order book. So they need emergency grants quite quickly to help them keep the doors open.”

Haviland says the government should also consider giving Ofgem more powers to drive competition, and introduce a reduction on VAT on energy bills for businesses.

Image source, EPA

The new health secretary and deputy prime minister Therese Coffey has been doing the morning round of TV and radio interviews - she'll be dashing off to take her seat at the cabinet table shortly.

Speaking to the BBC, she said patients are her top priority, and that social care is going to be critical in order to deal with the thousands of patients currently in hospital who don't need clinical care.

She says she is "very conscious" of staff shortages in the NHS.

"There are a lot of vacancies, that's why we continue to roll out the diagnostic centres, that's why there's more treatment centres that are being put in place in order to tackle the backlog, that's the level of detail I now want to, and need to, get into."

Asked where the money to fund the NHS will come from, she says it will be "exactly the same" as before.

Growing the economy is the "main element" of this government, she says, adding that doing so "will bring in more tax revenues in order to fund public services, but also with our tax payers as well."

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

In just over a half an hour, the new cabinet will gather in No 10 for the first meeting of Liz Truss’s premiership.

There’s been a lot of change in government. Rishi Sunak’s supporters are out - Liz Truss loyalists are in.

Downing Street is keen to point out this morning that five other leadership candidates have been brought into the fold - but some Tories are nervous that there aren’t more faces who could help unite a fractured party.

Ms Truss will outline her plans for cost of living support at this morning’s meeting. The chancellor is said to be crossing the Ts and dotting the Is in his first full day in the Treasury.

The plan is for details to be confirmed tomorrow. But before then Ms Truss will face PMQs - where the cost of living is highly likely to feature.

Another man looking for detail is Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, who says a straightforward bill freeze would be "very poorly targeted" as the "majority of the money will go to better off people who use more energy".

Johnson adds that finding a way of targeting support to those who need it "appears to be something that has stumped the Treasury and the government in terms of finding a mechanism for achieving that".

He says while Britain can afford to borrow, interest rates are rising at a fast pace and the government should plan more targeted support measures to get the country through to next winter.

"Otherwise, we're going to be on the hook potentially, for an awful lot more money for an awful lot longer," Johnson says.

With much attention on Prime Minister Liz Truss's plan to freeze energy bills, Labour's Shadow Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, says the details of the plan are needed before it can be welcomed.

"We really haven't got the detail," he tells the BBC, adding that knowing where the money is coming from is what is important.

"Is it actually going to come from consumers, from bill payers down the line? Or is it going to come from the oil and gas companies who have made huge profits, more than they imagined, and can actually afford to fund it?

"We're going to need to see the detail in the hours ahead," he says.

For the first time none of the great offices of state is held by a white man, with Suella Braverman as home secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng as chancellor and James Cleverly as foreign secretary.

Here is a visual guide to the new faces and role changes.

Chris Mason
Political editor

Image source, PA Media

Late on Tuesday night, cabinet positions were still being filled - the prime minister is approaching with the first meeting of the cabinet at 8.30 this morning.

There are a handful of striking things about it.

There has been a near total purge of those who backed Rishi Sunak. The only one who I can spot is Michael Ellis, the new attorney general for England and Wales.

And even he will attend cabinet rather than being a cabinet minister, subtle though that distinction is.

This dominance of Truss campaign supporters around the Truss top table is already prompting grumbling among some Tory MPs, although we do await appointments to the more junior ranks in government.

The prime minister's desire for loyalty and building a government in her own image runs the risk of provoking rebellion down the track.

Read more from Chris Mason here.

One of the most pressing things Liz Truss's new cabinet will be talking about this morning will be her plans to tackle the soaring cost of living.

It's thought she's preparing to massively increase government borrowing so the average annual energy bill can be capped at around £2,500.

Meanwhile, insolvency experts say that tens of thousands of firms are at risk of going under because of soaring bills, unless the government provides support.

The business consultancy, Red Flag Alert, warned that without intervention there would be more company failures than at any time since 1984.

Read more on that here.

Ione Wells
Political Correspondent, BBC News

Image source, Reuters

Only one Sunak supporter - Michael Ellis - has been handed a prominent position in the cabinet.

So how are the rest of them reacting?

One senior MP who supported Rishi Sunak tells me: “I genuinely want her to do well for the good of the country and party.

"Quite a few of us in that position but there’s also no shortage of quiet grumbling around.”

Many Tory MPs expect her to appoint some of his supporters into more junior ministerial positions - some of which may come tomorrow.

The Sunak supporting MP adds: “She looks determined to create her own government and I don’t blame her. She has to create the sense of a new chapter starting.

"But party management will be a headache inevitably in the months ahead. Big job for the whips and new no 10 operation.”

Faisal Islam
BBC Economics Editor

BBC correspondents are looking at some of the biggest issues Liz Truss will have to face as PM.

Liz Truss won't actually be able to solve fully their biggest challenge - the cost-of-living crisis. And it's got notably worse during the Tory leadership campaign.

At its core is the problem that energy, especially gas, is not flowing normally. This is primarily because of the Ukraine conflict and the conscious actions of the Kremlin.

Prices spiked further recently, as European nations stored up gas for the winter.

The overall result is most people will find energy prices unaffordable.

The extent, timing, and targeting of help - which will stretch into tens of billions of pounds just for households - are the key judgments the new prime minister will face.

Other prices - especially for food - are also surging, which could lead the inflation rate beyond 15%.

All that is before the impact of further falls in the value of sterling.

Meanwhile, interest rates are on the rise, not just for families, but also for companies and the government itself.

It is a toxic economic cocktail, and will require judicious, credible, and timely interventions.