Summary

  • New PM Rishi Sunak has reintroduced the Conservatives' moratorium on fracking in England, Downing Street has confirmed

  • It reverses his predecessor Liz Truss's decision to lift the ban in areas where there was local consent

  • The controversial technique for recovering gas and oil from shale rock was halted in 2019 after concerns about earth tremors

  • It follows Sunak's first Prime Minister's Questions as PM, where he was grilled by Labour Leader Keir Starmer and other MPs

  • Starmer accused him of making a "grubby deal" to reappoint Suella Braverman as home secretary just six days after she resigned over data breaches

  • Sunak responded that Braverman "made an error of judgment", has apologised, and he's delighted to have her back in cabinet

  • Earlier the government said it would delay announcing its plan to repair the UK's finances from Monday 31 October to 17 November

  1. Truss at the lectern to address nationpublished at 10:16 British Summer Time 25 October 2022

    Liz Truss is out now at the lectern to address the nation for her final time as prime minister.

    We'll bring you what she says and you can watch live at the top of this page.

  2. King Charles arrives at Buckingham Palacepublished at 10:16 British Summer Time 25 October 2022

    King Charles arrives at Buckingham Palace
    Image caption,

    King Charles arrives at Buckingham Palace

    King Charles has arrived at Buckingham Palace ahead of his meeting with outgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss.After that, he will meet with Rishi Sunak where he is expected to invite him to form a government.

  3. Liz Truss to address nation for last time as PMpublished at 10:13 British Summer Time 25 October 2022

    Liz Truss is due to make a final statement as prime minister outside Downing Street in the next few minutes.

    Members of No 10 staff and Deputy Prime Minister Therese Coffey are standing outside ready.

    After her speech, Truss will leave for Buckingham Palace to meet King Charles.

    Stay with us as we bring you the latest.

  4. Truss bids farewell after 49-day stint as PMpublished at 10:12 British Summer Time 25 October 2022

    Nick Eardley
    Chief political correspondent

    Just 49 days after she arrived her in the crowning point of her political career, it’s all ended in disaster for Liz Truss.

    She is about to officially become the shortest serving prime minister in British history.

    Normally, in their departure speech, prime ministers list what they consider their achievements to be.

    Truss won’t have much to choose from.

    She may decide to talk about the reversal of the national insurance increase and the energy support announced in her first days in office. But even that has been significantly curtailed by the new chancellor.

  5. Downing Street lectern is out - againpublished at 10:01 British Summer Time 25 October 2022

    Staff lift a podium in-front of Number 10 Downing StreeImage source, Reuters

    Here's a bit of No 10 furniture we've seen many times over the last few months.

    The Downing Street lectern is out, ahead of a speech by outgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss.

    She's due to make a statement before she travels the short distance to Buckingham Palace to tender her resignation to King Charles.

  6. Can Sunak steer the economy through a 'profound crisis'?published at 09:57 British Summer Time 25 October 2022

    Faisal Islam
    Economics editor

    Rishi Sunak enters Number 10 today having made very few promises and said very little in this leadership campaign.

    He has experience of "profound economic challenges" having steered the economic response to the pandemic lockdowns, creating from scratch the furlough scheme - the state-funded subsidy of the wages of 11 million British workers.

    But what Sunak faces now is a different type of challenge, where he is constrained from doing "whatever it takes", as he famously said during the pandemic.

    What we now have is generationally high inflation, high debts, low growth, and a need to fully regain lost market credibility.

    His appointment has already calmed the markets, with effective government borrowing rates now back to the levels seen just after the mini-budget.

    If sustained, that could filter across the economy, limiting the rise in mortgage and business lending costs.

    Read the full story here.

  7. Waiting game for handover of powerpublished at 09:50 British Summer Time 25 October 2022

    Nick Eardley
    Chief political correspondent

    Members of the media stand outside 10 Downing Street this morningImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    The media have been camped outside No 10 since early this morning

    It’s just seven weeks to the day since we last stood here in Downing Street, waiting for the handover of power from one prime minister to the next.

    At the time, we said Liz Truss faced one of the most daunting in-trays in recent history.

    Well, Rishi Sunak has an even harder backdrop.

    Economic turbulence, inflation, the cost of living, war in Ukraine, political divisions in Parliament. It’s not going to be easy for the new PM.

  8. Decision on prime minister 'allows markets to stabilise'published at 09:41 British Summer Time 25 October 2022

    HSBC office in LondonImage source, Getty Images

    Lender HSBC has said this morning that Rishi Sunak becoming the country's next prime minister will help financial markets to stabilise after turmoil caused in the wake of the mini-budget.

    Sunak will face the task of restoring investors' confidence after concerns were raised by Kwasi Kwarteng's promise of tax cuts without setting out how they would be funded.

    New Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has reversed many of those mini-budget measures, although it remains to be seen if he will retain his position in Sunak's cabinet.

    "We're very pleased that there has been a decision taken on the UK prime minister position, that now allows the markets to stabilise as you can see in the way the markets reacted yesterday, that's positive," HSBC chief executive Noel Quinn told Reuters, after the bank posted its third quarter earnings.

    The pound was broadly unchanged against the dollar on Monday afternoon after Sunak's nomination was confirmed, and government borrowing costs stayed lower, but Quinn called on the prime minister to work with banks to ensure Britain remains competitive in the financial industry.

  9. Cabinet ministers leave No 10 after final Truss meetingpublished at 09:31 British Summer Time 25 October 2022

    James Cleverly leaves No 10 Downing StreetImage source, Reuters

    A group of cabinet ministers have just left Downing Street after meeting with outgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss.

    Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg and Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan were among the current ministers spotted leaving No 10.

    They'll find out later today if they still have a cabinet position after Rishi Sunak's reshuffle.

    You can watch a live feed of Downing Street at the top of this page.

  10. Cabinet appointments should be based on merit, says former Conservative leaderpublished at 09:20 British Summer Time 25 October 2022

    Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith has been speaking to the BBC about the issues faced by Sunak, saying the Conservatives have two years before the next election "to try and get the economy back on track".

    Duncan Smith says Sunak needs to "deliver on the promise of Brexit and to deliver a more competitive economy with high levels of productivity."

    "These are big challenges," he adds, "but we lost the first two and a half years because of Covid and we've been faced with the war in Ukraine for the last seven to eight months."

    Duncan Smith says "there's got to be a balance" in government spending and that it should not be "too heavy-handed" on the tax side of things. "We have to make sure the poorest in society do manage to keep up."

    On cabinet posts, Duncan Smith says appointments should be based on merit only: Sunak should not think he "owes anybody anything" and should remember that government jobs are "bigger than any individual... regardless of which bits of the Tory Party they come from".

    "Solid experience had gone missing in the previous cabinet - but experience matters to the prime minister because it's the memory of what went wrong in the past and what people did to put it right," he adds.

  11. Sunak will bring compassionate economics to No 10 - Tory MPpublished at 09:09 British Summer Time 25 October 2022

    More now from Tory MP Victoria Atkins who's been telling the BBC's Today programme, Rishi Sunak is a "compassionate but fiscally prudent conservative."

    She says that people should cast their minds back to the pandemic.

    "In the midst of all this worry and concern, Rishi developed the furlough scheme and all of the other schemes that helped businesses," she says.

    Sunak will bring a "compassionate approach to economics" to No 10, Atkins adds.

    "We very, very much want to ensure the next few months - which are going to be tough - are dealt with in a way that is compassionate and understanding. Rishi understands that," she says.

    Asked about why Sunak's speech after winning the leadership race yesterday was so short, Atkins says "in fairness, give us a couple of hours".

    "He’s going to be meeting His Majesty then he will deliver his speech in Downing Street.

    "The thing I hope we’ve learned over the last few weeks is that some of these things do take time."

  12. Cabinet members arrive at Downing Streetpublished at 08:48 British Summer Time 25 October 2022

    Jacob Rees-Mogg arrives at Downing StreetImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg arrives at Downing Street for this morning's cabinet meeting

    Members of Liz Truss's cabinet have started arriving at Downing Street for their final meeting with her as prime minister.

    The cabinet meeting comes before Truss makes a statement outside No 10 at 10:15, before leaving Downing Street and travelling to meet King Charles at Buckingham Palace to give him her formal resignation.

    Transport Secretary Anne-Marie TrevelyanImage source, PA Media
    Image caption,

    Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan smiles outside No 10

    Home Secretary Grant ShappsImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    Home Secretary Grant Shapps steps inside

    Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Nadhim ZahawiImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Nadhim Zahawi heads to the cabinet meeting in Downing Street

  13. An urgent matter for Sunak: where to make NHS savingspublished at 08:40 British Summer Time 25 October 2022

    Nick Triggle
    Health Correspondent

    NHS staffImage source, PA Media

    With record numbers waiting for hospital treatment and the threat of strikes over pay and winter just around the corner, Rishi Sunak will be firefighting from day one. Any attempts to introduce his own policies and vision are likely to have to wait.

    During the summer, Sunak spoke on several occasions about waste and bureaucracy, floating the idea of a vaccine-style taskforce to improve efficiency, and charging patients £10 for missed appointments.

    There is scepticism within the health service about the merits of these ideas, but they suggest he will take a tough line in terms of savings - perhaps not cutting the budget, but asking the service to do more with the same amount - and try to get on top of the backlog faster than has been timetabled for so far.

    Key to this will be tackling delayed discharges - the patients who are ready to leave hospital but cannot because of a lack of care available in the community.

    The fact Sunak was willing to raise National Insurance contributions - a move now scrapped - to help increase investment in the NHS points to this being an immediate area of focus.

  14. We've got to get on with governing - former Tory leaderpublished at 08:34 British Summer Time 25 October 2022

    Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith says the party needs to “get on with governing”.

    Speaking to BBC Breakfast, he says Rishi Sunak must "make it clear" to the party that it "can no longer indulge in debates about policy".

    When asked if Sunak may have his job cut out for him dealing with Tory backbenchers, he says he thinks "there is a great desire to stop now having an argument in an empty room."

    Duncan Smith says the government faces a range of issues including Covid-19, the war in Ukraine, and now the cost of living crisis.

    Similar problems are being dealt with across Europe, including in Germany, he says.

  15. Hunt doesn't know if he'll be kept on as chancellorpublished at 08:23 British Summer Time 25 October 2022

    Jeremy HuntImage source, Reuters

    The make-up of Rishi Sunak's new cabinet will become much clearer this afternoon, with current ministers hoping they can survive the reshuffle.

    Jeremy Hunt was asked by reporters this morning if he thinks he'll be kept on as chancellor ahead of a highly-anticipated Halloween fiscal statement next week.

    "I don't know," was his response. He'll know for certain in a few hours time.

  16. Truss stepped away from 2019 manifesto - Tory MPpublished at 08:15 British Summer Time 25 October 2022

    Tory MP Victoria Atkins says she thinks outgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss would accept that she "stepped away from the 2019 manifesto".

    Rishi Sunak "will stick to the 2019 manifesto. It's as simple as that", she told Sky News.

    Atkins, who supported Sunak for the Tory leadership, said this means there will be a continued focus on levelling up, the NHS and security, as well as tackling violence against women and girls, and supporting victims of domestic abuse.

    "It's been a brutal six weeks in politics for lots of people," she said.

    "It's been a very, very fast pace. But we now, behind Rishi, will have a stability and confidence, and reassurance, that I hope will begin to make a real difference to people's lives over the coming weeks and months."

  17. Opposing views from the Tory grassrootspublished at 08:08 British Summer Time 25 October 2022

    Rishi Sunak has vowed to unify the Conservative party, but not everyone from the party's grassroots is on the same page this morning.

    Tamara Wood, chair of Telford Conservative Association, is angered by the fact that the Tory membership did not have the chance to vote on the new party leader.

    "We’ve had no say in [Sunak's] placement as the leader," she tells BBC's Today programme.

    "If the democratic process had been followed and the membership had put him in place then yes, but a coronation being placed on us by the parliamentary party? I have to say the membership, the officers, and some of our current counsellors and candidates are very unhappy.

    "Those MPs are reliant on the grassroots of the party. They have made the grassroots of the party feel used and not needed. We’re the people who have to stand on the doorstep, we’re the people who have to defend what is happening in parliament."

    But Daphne Bagshawe, chair of Wealden Conservatives, disagrees.

    "The party has followed the process absolutely properly," she says.

    "We can now get on with what needs to be done. I really think the country wants us to get on with that job.

    "From what people are saying to me, they are determined to unite behind Rishi Sunak and I think the country will be too.

    "I sense the country trusts Rishi Sunak, they know he is kind … they know he is competent, they saw what he did during the pandemic and we’re going to need that type of control."

  18. Sunak’s cabinet conundrumpublished at 07:53 British Summer Time 25 October 2022

    Nick Eardley
    Chief political correspondent

    This afternoon, Rishi Sunak will need to start putting together his first cabinet.

    We’ve had no confirmation of who will be in it. But there is an expectation Jeremy Hunt is likely to stay at the Treasury as chancellor to provide some stability. Beyond that, the new prime minister will have a difficult balancing act.

    He’ll want to bring in some of his allies who backed him over the summer, people like Dominic Raab.

    But he also wants to unite his party, which is likely to involve jobs for MPs from different wings of the Conservative Party. That’ll be a different approach from Liz Truss and Boris Johnson who packed their cabinets with loyalists.

    Appointing a cabinet is always complicated. For Rishi Sunak, it’ll be even more so.

  19. What has the reaction been from world leaders?published at 07:46 British Summer Time 25 October 2022

    Global reaction to Rishi Sunak’s victory was slow and steady, with many leaders likely waiting for today’s formalities to be over.

    Let’s take a look at some of the ones we did see.

    • US President Joe Biden said, via his press secretary, that he was looking forward to speaking with Sunak. Protocol dictates that the president waits until the British monarch has invited the PM to form a government before they hold talks
    • As well as Scottish FM Nicola Sturgeon congratulating Sunak, Welsh FM Mark Drakeford said he hoped to "work constructively" with Sunak. Taking aim at Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, he added: "I hope we're able to work constructively together to support people through these difficult times in a way that your predecessors didn't allow”
    • Indian PM Narendra Modi was understandably pleased about Sunak, who’s of Indian descent, bagging the top job. "Special Diwali wishes to the 'living bridge' of UK Indians, as we transform our historic ties into a modern partnership,” he said after wishing the new PM his “warmest congratulations”
    • In the EU, President of the European Council Charles Michel offered his good wishes to the UK's incoming leader. Urging Sunak to collaborate closely with the EU, he said “bringing stability is key” to overcoming “challenges”
    • And Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he looked forward to working with Sunak “on the important issues we face on these islands, and globally”

    We’ll bring you more reaction to Sunak’s appointment as and when it comes in.

  20. Price of pasta, tea and cooking oil soarspublished at 07:42 British Summer Time 25 October 2022

    Noor Nanji
    BBC News

    PastaImage source, Getty Images

    The cost of living crisis is one of many pressing issues Rishi Sunak will need to tackle as PM.

    The price of pasta, tea, chips and cooking oil has soared, according to new data, with vegetable oil going up by 65% in a year.

    Overall, the price of budget food items rose by 17% in the year to September, the Office for National Statistics said.

    It comes as inflation is at a 40-year high, with prices up 10.1% in a year.

    Food prices drove the latest rise in living costs in September, along with energy bills and transport costs.