[ad_1]
Russia has hit out at Liz Truss after the embattled Prime Minister announced her resignation today following weeks of chaos. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova branded Ms Truss a “disgrace” and said she would be remembered for her “catastrophic illiteracy”.
Ms Zakharova said: “Britain has never known such a disgrace of a Prime Minister.”
Ms Truss has been at the receiving end of digs from Moscow since she visited in February as part of a drive by Western politicians to avert Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The claim of “catastrophic illiteracy” is an apparent reference to Ms Truss appearing to confuse two regions of Russia with neighbouring Ukraine in a meeting with Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov during the trip.
Relations between Moscow and London have plummeted to their lowest level in decades in recent years with the brutal invasion of Ukraine and the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury in 2018.
She held talks with the chairman of the powerful 1922 Committee of backbench Conservatives, Sir Graham Brady, and agreed for a fresh leadership contest with a new PM expected to be in place by the end of next week.
Ms Truss added: “This will ensure that we remain on a path to deliver our fiscal plan and maintain our country’s economic stability and national security.
“I will remain as Prime Minister until a successor has been chosen.”
Ms Truss’s resignation comes just over 24 hours after insisting she was “a fighter, not a quitter” during a bruising Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.
The move will trigger a scramble among Tory leadership hopefuls to replace her, with reports Boris Johnson could make a sensational comeback by throwing his hat in the ring.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt ruled himself out along with Conservative heavyweight Michael Gove.
Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt, who came third in the last leadership race, said she would “keep calm and carry on”.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer demanded a general election “now” so that the nation can have “a chance at a fresh start”.
Sir Keir said: “The British public deserve a proper say on the country’s future. They must have the chance to compare the Tories’ chaos with Labour’s plans to sort out their mess, grow the economy for working people and rebuild the country for a fairer, greener future.”
Ms Truss’s leadership had been on life support since the financial markets turned against her following the September 23 mini-budget, which led to the sacking of Kwasi Kwarteng in a bid to stay in power.
In a fresh blow on Wednesday, Suella Braverman departed as Home Secretary.
The popular figure on the Tory right officially stood down for using a personal email to send a sensitive document, but she was at odds with Ms Truss over immigration policy.
And in farcical scenes last night, Conservative MPs were threatened with having the whip suspended if they rebelled over fracking.
[ad_2]
