Kwasi Kwarteng sacked as chancellor after six weeks before expected Liz Truss mini-budget U-turn – UK politics live

Kwasi Kwarteng sacked after six weeks as chancellor

Kwasi Kwarteng has been sacked after his disastrous mini-budget caused market turmoil, a bailout of pension funds and rising mortgage rates, Downing Street has confirmed.

Kwarteng is leaving the position after just six weeks in the job, despite Liz Truss, the prime minister, having also signed off an array of unfunded tax cuts in the mini-budget last month.

He had returned early from the International Monetary Fund meeting in the US to discuss further U-turns in the budget, after a move to drop the 45p tax rate failed to calm the economic situation.

Updated at 07.55 EDT

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Here’s the moment BBC News announced the sacking of Kwasi Kwarteng as chancellor.

Moment the BBC reports sacking of Kwasi Kwarteng as chancellor – video Kwasi Kwarteng sacked after six weeks as chancellor

Kwasi Kwarteng has been sacked after his disastrous mini-budget caused market turmoil, a bailout of pension funds and rising mortgage rates, Downing Street has confirmed.

Kwarteng is leaving the position after just six weeks in the job, despite Liz Truss, the prime minister, having also signed off an array of unfunded tax cuts in the mini-budget last month.

He had returned early from the International Monetary Fund meeting in the US to discuss further U-turns in the budget, after a move to drop the 45p tax rate failed to calm the economic situation.

Updated at 07.55 EDT

Nicholas Watt from BBC Newsnight has been told that a group of senior Tories will call on Liz Truss to resign as prime minister next week.

Updated at 07.47 EDT

Kwasi Kwarteng sacked as chancellor – Sky News

Kwasi Kwarteng has been sacked as chancellor, two sources have told Sky News.

Lib Dems call for general election

The leader of the Lib Dems, Ed Davey, has called for a general election amid the turmoil.

Updated at 07.41 EDT

Liz Truss expected to sack Kwasi Kwarteng ahead of corporation tax U-turn

Kwasi Kwarteng will be sacked as chancellor as Liz Truss tries to restore her political authority ahead of a U-turn on parts of her disastrous mini-budget later on Friday, according to sources.

A Downing Street source confirmed to the Guardian the prime minister intended to get Kwarteng to “carry the can” over her climbdown as she sought to calm the markets and the nerves of jittery Tory MPs.

Truss is meeting Kwarteng, previously her closest political ally and co-architect of her plan for growth, for crisis talks in Downing Street after he dashed back overnight from an International Monetary Fund (IMF) meeting in Washington.

Whitehall insiders told the Guardian the pair held different views on how far the government should go in reversing key elements of its plan to steady the markets and placate anxious Conservative MPs.

Read the full story here:

The Guardian’s Pippa Crerar is also hearing that Kwasi Kwarteng is to be sacked as chancellor.

Labour says ‘humiliating’ U-turn is necessary

The shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has responded to speculation of the mini-budget U-turn.

Updated at 07.23 EDT

If Kwasi Kwarteng does leave office today, it would make him the second shortest-serving chancellor in modern British history.

The Guardian’s Henry Dyer has the list:

TalkTV’s Tom Newton Dunn reports that Jeremy Hunt is being tipped to replace Kwasi Kwarteng as chancellor.

A No 10 source has said they are not commenting on reports Kwasi Kwarteng is due to be sacked as chancellor, the BBC’s Chris Mason has said.

Asked if the chancellor was being removed, the source told Mason: “I have not heard that information”.

Treasury sources have told the Guardian that Nadhim Zahawi or Sajid Javid could replace Kwarteng as chancellor, if he is being sacked as reported by the Times’ Steven Swinford.

From our political editor Pippa Crerar:

Updated at 07.07 EDT

Here are some pictures of the chancellor – or former chancellor – Kwasi Kwarteng leaving London’s Heathrow airport.

Kwasi Kwarteng leaving Heathrow airport. Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA Kwarteng travelled on a flight from the US ahead of schedule for urgent talks with the prime minister, Liz Truss. Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA

Updated at 07.07 EDT

Kwasi Kwarteng ‘being sacked as chancellor’ – report

Kwasi Kwarteng is being sacked as the chancellor, the Times’ Steven Swinford has been told.

Updated at 06.34 EDT