Liz Truss has vowed the to lead the Tories into the next general election as she apologised for her “mistakes”.
The prime minister is battling to save her premiership after torching her economic agenda by the dismantling of her former chancellor’s landmark mini-budget.
In an interview with the BBC after new chancellor Jeremy Hunt scaled back the energy support package and ditched “almost all” the tax cuts announced by his predecessor, Truss said she wanted to “accept responsibility and say sorry for the mistakes that have been made”.
“I wanted to act… to help people with their energy bills to deal with the issue of high taxes, but we went too far and too fast. I’ve acknowledged that,” she said.
She said she is “sticking around” because she was “elected to deliver for this country”, adding: “I will lead the Conservatives into the next general election.”
The pressure on the prime minister gained traction on Monday evening with Tories now openly calling for her to go after just six weeks in power.
Asked whether she would lead the Conservatives into the next general election, Truss replied: “I will lead the Conservatives into the next general election.”
When pressed, she added: “Well look, yeah, (laughs) I’m not focused on internal debates within the Conservative Party.
“The important thing is that I’ve been elected to this position to deliver for the country. We are facing very tough times.
“We simply cannot afford to spend our time talking about the Conservative Party, rather than what we need to deliver. That is my message to my colleagues.”
In the interview, she also said: “I do want to accept responsibility and say sorry for the mistakes that have been made. I wanted to act, to help people with their energy bills, to deal with the issue of high taxes, but we went too far and too fast.
“I have acknowledged that. I have put in place a new chancellor with a new strategy to restore economic stability. Now what I am focused on is delivering for the public.”
She added: “I am somebody who is honest, I’ve said that mistakes were made. I’ve also acted to address that, to make sure the country is in a strong position. And that’s what I will continue to do as prime minister.”
Truss is fighting to save her premiership after Hunt warned that “eye-wateringly difficult” decisions were needed as he tore up her economic strategy.
Hunt scaled back the energy support package and ditched “almost all” the tax cuts announced by his predecessor Kwasi Kwarteng less than a month ago, as he tried to restore economic stability after weeks of turmoil on the financial markets.
Truss became prime minister after winning the Tory leadership contest on the back of promises to dramatically cut tax, and the wholesale abandonment of the policies has left her fighting for her job after just six weeks.
She sat next to her new chancellor in the Commons, staring straight ahead as he ditched huge chunks of her plan.
After around 30 minutes, she walked out without having said a word.