Liz Truss news – latest: Boris Johnson urges Tories to back him for PM as Rishi Sunak ‘certain’ to contest

Boris Johnson is reportedly urging Tories privately to back him for prime minister, promising that only he can save the party from a total wipeout.

The Telegraph reported that the former PM is flying back from a holiday in the Caribbean as early as today and has been reaching out to members, including Rishi Sunak, who is expected to contest again.

An ally of Mr Johnson told the Telegraph: “If the Tories are serious about winning in 2024 and want to stop a general election before then they need to revert to the guy with a mandate who is a seasoned campaigner.

The world’s media has reacted to the resignation of Liz Truss, Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister, amid a chaotic political and economic situation for the nation.

The Washington Post’s editorial board has put forward a strategy for Britain to “right itself after Ms Truss”, claiming the nation “looks increasingly like an isolated Atlantic island state” instead of an international player.

The Wall Street Journal’s editorial argues the demise of Ms Truss has lessons for domestic US politics.

Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese has said he was concerned about any potential delays to the free trade deal with Britain arising from the political instability happening there.

“I’m concerned about any delay that would occur to the Australia-UK free trade agreement,” Mr Albanese told reporters a while ago.

“I had discussed with prime minister Truss the fast tracking of that. I will of course, speak to whoever it is that will become the next prime minister of the United Kingdom about doing that.”

Liz Truss quit yesterday after the shortest, most chaotic tenure of any British prime minister, forced out after her economic programme shattered the country’s reputation for financial stability and left many people poorer.

Liz Truss’s dramatic resignation as prime minister has sparked a flood of demands for an immediate general election, with The Independent’s petition passing 280,000 signatures within hours of her announcement.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer led calls for a poll now, declaring: “The British public deserve a proper say on the country’s future.”

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey issued a call for Conservative MPs to “do their patriotic duty, put the country first and give the people a say”.

And Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “The interests of the Tory party should concern no-one right now. A general election is now a democratic imperative.”

Here’s a summary of everything that happened yesterday by our political editor Andrew Woodcock:

Liz Truss will be able to claim up to £115,000 from the taxpayer per annum despite having the shortest tenure of any British prime minister in history (Emily Atkinson writes).

The outgoing Conservative leader can claim the money from the Public Duty Costs Allowance (PDCA), which was introduced to assist former prime ministers still active in public life. According to government guidance, payments are made only “to meet the actual cost of continuing to fulfil public duties.”

The allowance was arranged in the wake of the resignation of Margaret Thatcher in 1990, and announced by her predecessor, John Major, in March the following year.

The Independent’s petition calling for a general election to be held in the UK following recent political furore has surpassed 200,000 signatures (Emily Atkinson writes).

As of 6.25pm on Thursday, after Liz Truss quit as prime minister following just 45 days in office, the petition had been signed by more than 200,400 people – up by some 50,000 signatures in just one hour.

You can sign the petition here.

Conservative MPs have warned that the party could split if Boris Johnson returns as leader following the dramatic resignation of Liz Truss after just 45 days as prime minister (Andrew Woodcock writes).

After six weeks of turmoil culminating in her sacking her chancellor and home secretary within days of one another, Ms Truss conceded that she could not “deliver the mandate” on which she was elected.

She will hand over to a new prime minister by 28 October – next Friday – with her departure brought forward to Monday if Tory MPs are able to unite behind a single candidate for leader and avoid the need for a ballot of party members.

Close allies of former chancellor Rishi Sunak told The Independent that he will be on the ballot paper, after missing out to Ms Truss in a vote of around 170,000 members over the summer.

The Ukrainian government’s Twitter page has waded into the debate over who should succeed Liz Truss as prime minister.

In reference to Netflix programme Better Call Saul, it posted a graphic with Boris Johnson’s face featuring text reading: “Better Call Boris.”

The former prime minister was popular in Kyiv for his full-throated support for Ukraine’s defence against the Russian invasion.

Liz Truss‘s aides would concoct stories about family members dying in order to get the top Tory out of television appearances, it has been claimed.

Kirsty Buchanan, who worked for the new prime minister when she was justice secretary, said Ms Truss did not like doing media.

“She didn’t like the media, so we used to spend quite a lot of time making up excuses and killing off minor members of her family so she didn’t have to go on Question Time,” Ms Buchanan, a former political journalist who has also worked in No 10 said.

Speaking on the Whitehall Sources podcast, the ex-aide clarified : “Only minor people like aunts and cousins and things – I’m not talking about major members of the family.”

Eventually Ms Buchanan said Ms Truss’s team “ran out of excuses” and the Tory MP had to appear on the flagship BBC politics programme.