CHANCELLOR Kwasi Kwarteng has insisted that the UK Government is “sticking to the growth plan” and that it is “going to help people with energy bills”.
The Tory Government's tax-slashing budget announced on Friday has been heavily criticised for disproportionately benefitting the wealthiest in society.
It comes after a disastrous morning for Prime Minister Liz Truss after she doubled down on Kwarteng's mini-budget during a gruelling round of interviews with local broadcasters.
After four days of silence, the PM was also criticised for mixing up the "basic facts" of her government's energy policy.
READ MORE: Liz Truss breaks silence on economy chaos in painful series of BBC interviews
And now, Chancellor Kwarteng has spoken after days of turmoil where the pound collapsed and the Bank of England (BoE) staged an extraordinary intervention to save pension pots.
Asked if he had a message for the financial markets as he prepared to visit a local business in Darlington, Kwarteng told the PA news agency: “Absolutely. We are sticking to the growth plan and we are going to help people with energy bills.
"That’s my two top priorities.”
Earlier on Thursday the PM faced reporters for the first time after days of market turmoil and soaring mortgage interest rates, with some lenders even removing offers from the markets.
Asked by BBC Radio Kent if she will reverse the policies unveiled in the mini-budget, PM Truss replied: “I don’t accept the premise of the question.
“The action we’ve taken has been helping people with their fuel bills, that will start off this weekend… people are going to pay less national insurance, but we are facing difficult economic times. I don’t deny this.
“This is a global problem.
“But what is absolutely right is the UK Government has stepped in and acted at this difficult time.”
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon challenges Labour to 'emulate' SNP policies
The Treasury announced earlier this week that the government will not be releasing its full "fiscal plan" and accompanying forecasts, which were not released with the mini-budget, until November 23.
It comes as the BoE had to step in on Wednesday afternoon to avert a full-scale financial crisis following the mini-budget announcement.
Without the central bank's emergency intervention to launch a temporary scheme to buy government-backed bonds, pension funds could have collapsed with "mass insolvencies".
Shortly before the bank took its unprecedented action, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) made its own extraordinary intervention, stating it was “closely monitoring” developments and urged Kwarteng to “re-evaluate the tax measures”.
The warning prompted serious concern from opposition politicians who described the budget as an "unmitigated disaster".
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