Liz Truss accuses Biden of ‘utter hypocrisy’ in new book over reaction to disastrous mini-Budget

Former PM details the global reaction to her disastrous economic plan in new book

Former prime minister Liz Truss has accused US president Joe Biden of “utter hypocrisy and ignorance” for his reaction to the disastrous mini-Budget which sparked the end of her premiership.

In her new book, Ten Years to Save the West, she recalled the global reaction to the mini-Budget which promised £45bn of unfunded tax cuts.

Ms Truss, Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister, has previously blamed the “deep state” for “sabotaging” her tax-cutting plans from Kwasi Kwarteng’s notoriously disastrous economic plan which sent the pound into a nose dive and sparked a crash in the markets.

Ms Truss wrote, in an excerpt published in The Mail On Sunday: “Today [Tuesday 11 October 2022], the Bank of England governor himself caused a market reaction by announcing that the support scheme for pension funds would wind up at the end of the week. 

“This led to an immediate fall in the pound. On top of that, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has questioned whether the rich would benefit ‘too much’ from the mini budget — surely a domestic question for the UK Government!”

She quoted President Biden saying: “I wasn’t the only one that thought [the mini budget] was a mistake. I think that the idea of cutting taxes on the super-wealthy at a time when … anyway, I just think … I disagreed with the policy.”

The 49-day prime minister continued: “This was utter hypocrisy and ignorance. The top rate of income tax in the U.S. was 37 per cent and only charged to people earning the equivalent of £483,094 and above. By contrast, the top rate in the UK was 45 per cent and paid by those on more than £150,000.”

Liz Truss resigned as prime minister on 20 October 2022 (PA)

She said she was “shocked and outstanded” that a US president would comment on UK domestic policy.

Elsewhere in the memoir, she defended her approach suggesting that the “pro-Remain” Treasury, Bank of England and Office for Budget Responsibility were “barriers to our plans”.

Ms Truss has previously been criticised for her claims stating she had seen it for herself first-hand as unnamed figures and bodies “sabotaged my efforts in Britain to cut taxes, reduce the size of government and restore democratic accountability”.

She has struggled to explain what she means by the deep state.

The failed PM is now striving to place herself at the forefront of a new brand of right-wing politics, recently launching her so-called Popular Conservatism movement.

The Popular Conservatism group claims it is not a direct challenge to Mr Sunak’s leadership, but it wants to pile pressure on the prime minister to cut taxes, adopt hardline policies on immigration and leave the European Convention on Human Rights.