Rishi Sunak says 'mistakes were made' by Liz Truss in his first speech as prime minister

Rishi Sunak addressed the country for the first time as prime minister after an audience with the King and admitted 'mistakes were made' by Liz Truss

Mr Sunak, 42, assumed the role of prime minister less than a week after his predecessor Ms Truss stepped down, marking her as the shortest-serving leader in UK history.

Despite losing to Truss in his first bid to become party leader, the former Chancellor triumphed yesterday as his only rival Penny Mordaunt dropped out of the race.

Sunak’s challenge as Prime Minister is not only to unite the Conservative party, but also the country as he becomes the fifth PM in six years.

He outlined his plan to “restore trust” and “unite our country, not with words, but with action,” alongside paying tribute to his two predecessors - Liz Truss and Boris Johnson.

The 42-year-old said he respected the “noble” Liz Truss but admitted some “mistakes were made”, while praising Boris Johnson (who he served under as Chancellor) for his “incredible achievements”.

Speaking outside Downing Street, the new PM said: “I have been elected as leader of my party, and your Prime Minister, in part to fix [Liz Truss’ mistakes]. And that work begins immediately.

“I will work day in and day out to deliver for you. This government will have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level. Trust is earned. And I will earn yours.”

The speech comes after Sunak met with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace for the formal procedure to form a new government.

Among his ambitions for his new government are a stronger NHS, better education, controlled borders, safer environments and support for the armed forces.

As the United Kingdom faces an unstable economy and a lack of confidence in the government, Prime Minister Sunak reminded people of his role in guiding the country through Covid-19 with schemes such as ‘eat out to help out'.

He added: “You saw me during Covid, doing everything I could, to protect people and businesses, with schemes like furlough.

“There are always limits, more so now than ever, but I promise you this - I will bring that same compassion to the challenges we face today.

“The government I lead will not leave the next generation…with a debt to settle that we were too weak to pay ourselves,” he said.

The new Prime Minister closed his speech by encouraging the nation to band together to create a “future worthy of sacrifices”.