Truss sends Starmer cease and desist letter over claim she crashed the economy

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The former prime minister’s lawyers have said the remarks - made since the lead-up to the general election - are likely to “cause serious harm to her reputation”, claiming they are “false and defamatory”. “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, 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 whilst she was standing as the parliamentary candidate for the Conservative Party in South West Norfolk.” Referring to statements made by Sir Keir and other senior members of the Labour Party, claiming the former PM “crashed the economy”, the letter adds: “The statements are defamatory and are causing continuing damage to our client’s reputation. “Accordingly, our client requests that you immediately cease and desist from repeating the defamatory statements at any point, from causing them to be repeated or from otherwise re-publishing the defamatory statements or any part of them.” But Downing Street indicated Sir Keir would not change his language, saying the PM “absolutely stands by” his comments on the previous government’s record. The letter claims: “Those rate movements were caused by the Bank of England, and in particular by its poor handling of the LDI crisis, and its regulatory failures.” open image in gallery Sir Keir has repeatedly claimed the former PM “crashed the economy” It comes amid growing concern over the new Labour government’s first budget after borrowing costs struck their highest level for almost 17 years on Wednesday amid a continued sell-off in the bond market and investor concerns over the threat of stagflation.