Get behind Liz Truss, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt tells Tory MPs

Jeremy Hunt has appealed to Tory MPs to get behind Liz Truss, as she battles to restore credibility with backbenchers.

A series of damaging U-turns over her tax-cutting plans has led to some MPs to talk privately about how to remove her from office.

But her new chancellor told the BBC a fresh leadership campaign was "the last thing that people really want".

He insisted Ms Truss remained in charge of the government's direction.

Mr Hunt warned that "difficult decisions" would be necessary at a fresh budget at the end of this month to restore the UK's economic credibility.

He told Laura Kuenssberg he was not "taking anything off the table", including further reversals of tax cuts in last month's mini-budget.

He said every government department would be asked to make savings, but said the scale of cuts would be less than under his predecessor George Osborne in the period of austerity from 2010.

He added that Ms Truss's overall goal of promoting economic growth remained the same, but she had changed "the way we're going to get there".

"She's listened, she's changed, she's been willing to do that most difficult thing in politics which is to change tack," he added.