Liz Truss vows to deal with energy crisis as next PM

Liz Truss has promised to take action to deal with surging energy costs after winning the Tory leadership contest to become the next PM.

In a poll of party members, the foreign secretary defeated Rishi Sunak with 57% of the votes to his 43%, a narrower margin than expected.

She will succeed Boris Johnson on Tuesday after being formally appointed by the Queen.

The 47-year-old will become the UK's third woman prime minister.

In a victory speech, she promised to deliver on the party's 2019 election promises and defeat Labour at a general election in 2024.

She paid tribute to her "friend" Mr Johnson, adding he would be "admired from Kyiv to Carlisle" for his record in office.

"Boris, you got Brexit done, you crushed Jeremy Corbyn, you rolled out the vaccine and you stood up to Vladimir Putin," she said.

She promised to "govern as a Conservative" by delivering a "bold plan to cut taxes and grow our economy".

"I will deliver on the energy crisis, dealing with people's energy bills but also dealing with the long-term issues we have on energy supply," she added.

She inherits a flagging economy, with inflation at a 40-year high and pressure to shield households and businesses from soaring energy costs.

She has promised to detail a plan to deal with soaring prices within days, with an announcement understood to be pencilled in for Thursday.