Labour's Dame Margaret Hodge says that trust in the government is needed to stablise the markets and restore confidence in the economy.

Hodge asks Mordaunt to tell the House the reason Truss is not present in the interest of transparency and proper accountability.

Mordaunt says she has asked if she could disclose the reasons Truss couldn't be there but she cannot. She says she is being very genuine, and she hopes Truss can join the House this afternoon.

SNP MP David Linden asks whether the former chancellor will be rejecting his ministerial severance payment.

Mordaunt says she would not be involved in that decision but Linden will know who he could write to in order to find that out.

Labour MP Jess Phillips asks why the prime minister isn't addressing the house and why the markets needed reassuring.

Mordaunt says she fully appreciates the optics of her appearing at the dispatch box and says there is a "very genuine reason" why the PM is not appearing today.

The PM does wish to be present, but she is not able to, she adds.

Labour MP Bill Esterson says Mordaunt blamed "international circumstances" in her initial answer.

But if that's true, he asks, why is it people in this country are having to pay more for their mortgages than other people around the world?

"Wouldn't it be better for her and for the PM to admit they are responsible as the first necessary step to rebuild confidence in the House?"

Labour MP Dame Diana Johnson asks the leader to confirm the PM will not be taking decisions on economic policy in future.

Mordaunt says the PM, the chancellor and her cabinet will be making those decisions in the future.

She says the decision Truss made over the weekend was the right one, even if it was difficult for her.

Nick Eardley
Chief political correspondent

Penny Mordaunt wants this urgent question to be over.

It’s a chance for the opposition parties to criticise the prime minister for not turning up to answer questions. They think it shows she’s weak and unwilling to defend the junking of her economic strategy.

But Mordaunt says the PM has made difficult decisions - and the chancellor should be given the chance to explain to Parliament (he’s up next).

Perhaps the most memorable moments of this urgent question are Mordaunt insisting Liz Truss is not under a desk - and that there hasn’t been a coup.

Labour's Stella Creasy says that the PM's job is to make difficult decisions - yet she is "cowering under a desk waiting for it all to go away".

Mordaunt says "the PM is not under a desk" - then is interrupted by jeering. She says she can assure the House that the prime minister is not here for a very good reason.

Labour MP Andrew Gwynne says Liz Truss is not the one in power and says there has been a "coup".

He says the prime minsister should be in Parliament to defend her decision today.

"We want to know from the prime minister why her economic plan has been trashed weeks after it was announced.

"We want to know if she is sorry for misery she has caused."

He says people who have higher mortgages for the foreseeable future are also due an apology.

Penny Mordaunt denies there is a coup, but admits these are all "serious matters for our constituents".

Penny Mordaunt tells Parliament "we are in volatile times".

The Leader of the House of Commons says the war in Ukraine is not just a war against the people of Ukraine - it is an economic war.

Labour MP Chi Onwurah says that the PM "cowering in some corner somewhere" is not "courageous".

"It does not take courage to crash our economy. It takes reckless arrogance... It does not take courage to sack her chancellor after a month. It takes desperate opportunism."

Mordaunt repeats that the PM's actions took "personal courage" and they were in the national interest.

Conservative MP John Lamont welcomes the speed with which the new chancellor has acted.

He asks if the Hunt will work with backbenchers to ensure they are able to communicate the successes of the government.

Mordaunt says she knows the chancellor wants to work with all members in the interests of their constituents, and says she hopes their will be opportunities to talk about the successes of the Conservatives government.

Democratic Unionist Party MP for East Antrim Sammy Wilson says the current economic turmoil is affecting all of Parliament's constituents.

"For most people watching today they don't want to see political point-scoring," he says.

"They want to know how they are going to pay for their mortgages and bills."

Once again, Penny Mordaunt says the House of Commons will hear from the Chancellor shortly.

Labour's Alison McGovern says that the turbulence in the markets and the reason the chancellor was replaced is not just about taxes - "it's about trust". She asks Mordaunt how she thinks the British people's consent in government is going.

Mordaunt refers to the chancellor. "This is a serious moment. We want to ensure the markets are reassured," she says.

The session has so far been dominated by questions from the prime minister's critics.But we've also heard from Conservative MP Richard Graham, who says the country is waiting to hear from the chancellor, and this "entirely unnecessary" urgent question from Labour shows that the party is putting "politics ahead of the interests of our constituents".

Penny Mordaunt says she agrees with him.

Labour's Hilary Benn says that Mordaunt said yesterday the country needs "stability" and "not a soap opera".

Can she explain to the House why the PM is still in office when it is "clear to everybody" that "she is no longer in charge", Benn asks.

Mordaunt asks all MPs to "consider how those questions will help".

The leader of the Liberal Democrats Sir Ed Davey has called on the Leader of the House of Commons to apologise.

He says: "The previous Prime Minister shattered the public's trust in the government.

"The current prime minister has trashed the British economy... meanwhile, Conservative MPs have sat there and let it happen."

Conservative MP Peter Bone says the chancellor produced a part budget, not the full thing.

Mordaunt tells him that she hopes the House will soon be able to hear from the Chancellor on these important matters.

Labour's Angela Eagle says: "What we have seen in the last months is one of the largest humiliations this country has ever experienced - and it's directly as a result of the current PM's agenda which she set out to the tiny sliver of people who voted for her to be PM."

Eagle then suggests Mordaunt is "auditioning to be the next one along" since she knows this "humiliated" PM cannot last.

Mordaunt replies saying that "this will have been a very difficult decision" for the PM and Truss has "all of our support".

A question now from the SNP who tells Parliament that Scotland's First Minister set out an economic plan for Scotland's future earlier today.

Kirsten Oswald MP says Nicola Sturgeon "set out" a plan and "answered questions".

It is a very stark contrast to a prime minister who is hiding in Downing Street, terrified of the mess she has made, she says.

"Can the leader of the house tell us where on earth is the prime minister and if she doesn't even have the backbone to show up here today surely time is up?"

Penny Mordaunt again says the House of Commons will hear from the chancellor shortly.

Penny Mordaunt continues hitting back at the leader of the opposition.

She says Sir Keir Starmer's arguments are "against the national interest" adding that he has "abandoned" pledges which he ran on during his leadership race.

"I will always be proud to sit on this side of the house," she adds.

We will put the national interest first, she stresses, and says it's time to hear from the chancellor.