LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s Prime Minister Liz Truss apologised for “mistakes” in her programme that caused investor confidence to evaporate and her poll ratings to plunge before nearly all of it was finally shredded on Monday, but said she would not step down.
“I do want to accept responsibility and say sorry for the mistakes that have been made,” Truss told the BBC.
“I wanted to act but to help people with their energy bills to deal with the issue of high taxes, but we went too far and too fast.”
Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt, who was appointed on Friday after Truss sacked her close ally Kwasi Kwarteng, jettisoned the remaining major planks of her agenda on Monday, including scaling back her vast energy support scheme.
Asked if she was now prime minister in name only, Truss said she had appointed Hunt because she knew she had to change direction.
“It would have been completely irresponsible for me not to act in the national interest in the way where I have,” she said.
“It was right that we changed policy.”
Truss, who became leader less than six weeks ago, said she would lead her Conservative Party into the next election.
“I’m sticking around because I was elected to deliver for this country,” she said. “And that is what I am determined to do.”
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Chris Reese)
