Liz Truss sends Keir Starmer cease and desist letter over 'false' claims she crashed economy
A cease and desist letter has been sent to Sir Keir Starmer by lawyers representing Liz Truss, asking him to stop saying the former prime minister crashed the economy.
The letter states that Sir Keir's claims were defamatory, "false and misleading" and "likely to materially impact public opinion".
A spokesperson for the prime minister told ITV News he stood by his comments and had no plans to moderate his language based on the letter.
Ms Truss, who became prime minister in September 2022, was forced to leave office after just seven weeks. She lost her South West Norfolk seat in the last general election.
Her resignation in October 2022 came after a mini-budget in which she announced wide-ranging tax cuts which saw adverse market reaction and mortgage costs soar.
The letter – sent by lawyers at Asserson – refers to comments made by Sir Keir in June 2024 in which he talked about Ms Truss “crashing” or having “crashed” the economy.
“Of particular concern are the false and defamatory public statements you made about our client in the lead-up to the UK general election from late May 2024,” it reads.
“[They were] At a time when you knew or ought to have known that those statements were false; and the statements were likely to materially impact public opinion of our client while she was standing as the parliamentary candidate for the Conservative Party in South West Norfolk.”
The letter argues that the market movement during Ms Truss’s tenure in September and October 2022 should not be classified as a crash of the economy.
Referring to the movements in gilts and exchange rates at that time, the letter says: “Such rate movements cannot properly be described as a crash of the economy.
“To use such an expression is to display ignorance of basic economics and common usage of the term ‘crash’ when referred to an economy.”
The lawyers also suggest that Sir Keir’s repetition of the claims in the lead-up to last year’s general election “gives rise to a strong inference” that they were intended to “damage our client’s reputation and/or for political purposes”.
It asks for the prime minister to “immediately cease and desist” from repeating the claims.
At the Conservative Party conference in October, Ms Truss said it would be “economic illiteracy” to suggest that tax rises from Labour – at that point anticipated in Rachel Reeves’ upcoming first budget – were a result of her economic inheritance.
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know