"I'm a fighter not a quitter," Truss tells Starmer in first parliament clash since budget U-turns

Liz Truss has insisted she is "a fighter not a quitter" as she appeared at Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) in parliament for the first time since her budget plan collapsed amid economic and political turmoil.

It came on a day that saw more bad economic news, the UK's annual inflation rate returning to a 40-year high of over 10%, in another illustration of the country's cost-of-living crisis, Euronews reports.

In a series of feisty replies to opposition politicians who mocked recent U-turns, the prime minister said she had made it clear that she had made mistakes, but was getting "on with the job" to help the British people.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer began with a joke about a book on Truss' time in office, billed as being "out by Christmas". Was this referring to the release date or the title, he asked.

Citing her energy support package, a national insurance commitment and measures to "crack down on militant unions", the prime minister replied that in just under two months in office she had delivered more than Starmer had in two and a half years as party leader.

The Labour leader asked how the prime minister could be held to account when she was "not in charge", referring to her new finance minister's ditching of her economic plan. Spending cuts would now be introduced only because the Conservative government had "trashed the economy", he said.

Starmer finished by listing a series of Truss' policies — as well as her ex-finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng, sacked last week — that were now "gone". "Why is she still here?" he wanted to know.

"I am a fighter not a quitter," the prime minister responded, saying she had acted in the national interest to ensure economic stability.

There were some signs of further confusion on policy however, with Truss giving guarantees about the UK state pension, in apparent contradiction to previous comments by her office and other ministers, including her new finance minister.

"This government will prioritise help for the most vulnerable while delivering wider economic stability and driving long-term growth that will help everyone," said new finance minister Jeremy Hunt, responding to the figures.

Truss has defied calls for her resignation even though the Chancellor of the Exchequer has ditched virtually her entire budget plans, in a historic policy U-turn to try to stem a dramatic loss of investor confidence.

The prime minister says she will fight on and told her top ministers on Tuesday that she wanted to level with the public that there were tough times ahead.

At Prime Minister's Questions a week ago she told Starmer there would be no public spending cuts — another commitment since thrown out by Jeremy Hunt.