Pot calls kettle black? Truss says Reeves is pushing UK to brink of economic crisis’

Rachel Reeves has been blamed by Liz Truss for a dramatic drop in the value of the pound, which has sparked fears of a new recession.

- SIMON WALTERS

The former prime minister accused the chancellor of pushing Britain to the brink of economic crisis”.

The scathing attack came as both Tory and Lib Dem MPs called on Ms Reeves to scrap a planned trip to China this weekend in which she is to seek closer economic ties to Beijing to revive Britain’s struggling growth.

The intervention by Ms Truss marks a dramatic political turnaround. Labour won power on the back of persistent claims that Ms Truss “crashed the economy” during her brief spell in Downing Street.

And it came on the day that Ms Truss, who lost her Commons seat at the election, launched legal action against Sir Keir Starmer, calling on him to “cease and desist” from repeating the same claim.

No 10 said Sir Keir had no intention of toning down his criticism of Ms Truss, and Labour sources dismissed Ms Truss’ comments, arguing she is discredited as a result of her record in office. But the UK economic turmoil hard on the heels of Ms Reeves’s controversial Budget has highlighted the political stakes of the dispute between Labour and the Conservatives.