LIZ Truss has broken her silence on the fallout from the Tory government’s mini-budget – arguing that she and her ministers had to take “urgent action” to get the UK’s economy going.

The Prime Minister was facing intense pressure to speak up as the pound plunged, the IMF gave an extraordinary statement and the Bank of England was forced to intervene on her government’s tax-slashing measures.

In a series of eight pause-filled interviews with BBC local radio stations in England – snubbing Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – Truss doubled down on the Chancellor’s strategy with a number of scripted lines.

READ MORE: Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng AWOL as Tories wreck UK economy

Rather than engage with specific questions on the economic chaos sparked by Friday's policy announcements, which will see the wealthiest gain the most, Truss gave vague statements on the need to act on energy bills - describing that policy as "the biggest part" of the mini budget.

But the Government's policy to freeze average household energy bills at £2500 under a new energy price guarantee had already been well publicised in the days before the Chancellor's announcement to the Commons. 

Analysts agree that it's the tax cuts for the wealthy, set to be brought in using increased government borrowing, which have sparked the market panic since the weekend.

Truss also claimed that we are living through a "global" financial situation sparked by Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine. During an interview with BBC Radio Bristol, she avoided the question when asked if Putin was responsible for the Bank of England's major intervention. 

"We had to take urgent action"

In her first public comments since Kwasi Kwarteng’s statement plunged the financial markets into turmoil, the Prime Minister told BBC Radio Leeds: “We had to take urgent action to get our economy growing, get Britain moving and also deal with inflation.

“Of course that means taking controversial decision but I am prepared to do that as Prime Minister because what is important to me is that we get our economy moving, we make sure that people are able to get through this winter and we are prepared to do what it takes to make that happen.”

Shortly after, the Prime Minister told BBC Radio Norfolk: “Of course there are elements of controversy as there always are, but my priority was making sure that we were supporting the British people in what is going to be a very difficult winter and a difficult time.”

Asked whether she would stick to her plan, Prime Minister Liz Truss told BBC Radio Norfolk: “This is the right plan that we have set out.

“This is about making sure people are going into the winter not worried about high fuel bills, which is what we were looking at.

“It was simply unconscionable that we could have allowed that to happen.”

READ MORE: Pension funds would have 'collapsed today without Bank of England action'

Asked on BBC Radio Norfolk if Truss thinks she's smarter than the IMF, bishops, the RSPB, and economists who are all sounding the alarm over her mini budget. 

Again she refused to back down, telling listeners: "As Prime Minister, I have to do what I believe is right for the country.”

Pressed on whether people’s pensions were safe after reports that funds would have collapsed without Bank of England action, Truss said: “The Bank of England do that and they do a very good job of it.”

"Reverse Robin Hood"

Truss said it was “simply not true” when asked by BBC Radio Nottingham whether her mini-budget was a “reverse Robin Hood” that disproportionately benefited the most wealthy.

She said: “The biggest part of the package we announced is the support on energy bills, making sure that people across this country are not facing energy bills of more than £2500 and that businesses can get through this winter.

“We were facing a situation where pubs were going to go out of business, where shops were going to go out of business.

“People were facing unaffordable energy bills and the package we presented in the energy statement, but also on the mini-budget last week – the biggest part of that is the help on energy.”

READ MORE: Liz Truss 'might want economic crisis to prepare NHS for privatisation'

Pressed on whether it's fair to give those earning the most big tax breaks, Truss said: “It’s not fair to have a recession. It’s not fair to have towns where you’re not having the investment. It's not fair if we don't get high-paying jobs in the future because we've got the highest tax burden in 70 years. That's what's not fair.”

On BBC Radio Tees, Truss was told about a listener, Diane, who has had to sell her house of 25 years due to the cost-of-living crisis.

The Prime Minister was asked how her tax cuts for the wealthiest would help people like Diane, and replied: “Well, we are cutting taxes across the board because we were facing the highest tax burden on Britain for 70 years and that was causing a lack of economic growth, and without growth we don’t get the investment, we don’t get the jobs we need, which helps local communities right around the country.

“We’re also reversing the increase in national insurance.

“We’re also reducing the basic rate. So we’re reducing taxes across the board, because the tax burden was too high.”

Bank of England takes action

The Prime Minister's media round comes after the Bank of England launched an emergency government bond-buying programme to prevent borrowing costs from spiralling out of control and stave off a “material risk to UK financial stability”.

The Bank announced it was stepping in to buy up to £65 billion worth of government bonds – known as gilts – at an “urgent pace” after fears over the Government’s economic policies sent the pound tumbling and sparked a sell-off in the gilts market, which threatened to spark the collapse of some UK pension funds.

The FTSE 100 Index has also been hit by marked volatility amid the bond sell-off and wider global recession fears, falling by nearly 2% in early trading on Thursday after a rollercoaster ride on Wednesday.