Kwasi Kwarteng has blamed the “pressure” of the Queen’s death for mistakes made in the government’s mini-budget.
The chancellor and Prime Minister Liz Truss face a parliamentary bid to dock their pay following their “gross mismanagement” of the economy after the U-turn on axing the top rate of tax.
The Liberal Democrats plan to table a censure motion in the House of Commons calling for the Prime Minister and the Chancellor to lose half of their additional salaries paid as part of their roles in Government.
Speaking of mistakes made, the Independent reports Kwarteng said: “We had a nation in mourning and then, literally, four days after the funeral we had the mini-budget.
“It was a high speed, high pressure environment and we could, as David Cameron used to say, have prepared the pitch a bit better.”
Kwarteng urged Tories to “focus on the task in hand” as he battled to restore his authority as Chancellor after a dramatic U-turn over tax cuts for the rich.
Addressing the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham on Monday, he acknowledged it had been a “tough” day but promised there would be no more distractions.
Mr Kwarteng told activists: “What a day. It has been tough but we need to focus on the job in hand.
“We need to move forward, no more distractions, we have a plan and we need to get on and deliver it.”
He acknowledged “the plan put forward only 10 days ago has caused a little turbulence” – comments which led to some laughter in the audience.
The Chancellor’s mini-budget triggered turmoil in the City, was criticised by the International Monetary Fund and resulted in a £65 billion emergency intervention by the Bank of England to restore order.
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