'Negligence of basic economics': Liz Truss sends legal letter to Starmer asking him to stop saying she crashed UK's economy

Former prime minister of the United Kingdom (UK)Liz Trusssent a legal notice to the current PM Keir Starmer demanding him to stop claiming that she crashed the economy of the country. The six-page letter asks Starmer to stop making "false and defamatory" claims and accused him of harming her reputation. She said Starmer's allegations are contributing to her losing the South West Norfolk seat in the general election.

The Truss-Starmer row came to the fore when the UK's long-term borrowing costs hit their lowest and the value of the pound dropped as never before.

Truss argued in the letter that the market meltdown after her mini budget in October 2022, termed as "disastrous" by many, could not be described as "a crash of the economy". She claimed that the meltdown was not a part of the GDP fall or a rise in unemployment in the UK.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

She cited a report by the economist and rightwing commentator Andrew Lilico for Europe Economics and said that the factors involved in the economic turmoil were not under her control. She said it was the result of economic failures by the Bank of England, and if one describes it as an economic crash, they don't know "basic economics".

Truss’s legal letter argued that “the LDI (Liability-driven investing) crisis would have happened at some point in any event". She added that it could not be described as “a crash of the economy”.

The legal letter is the first attempt by Britain's shortest-serving PM to save her reputation after the economic turmoil the country went through during her term in office.

(With inputs from agencies)