Pound - live: Kwarteng's mini-budget tax U-turn joke 'an insult to millions'

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Kwasi Kwarteng jokes tax cut plan 'caused a bit of turbulence' as he tackles U-turn

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng's joke that the turmoil his projects caused in the markets was just a 'little turbulence' is an 'insult to millions,' the Liberal Democrats said.

Earlier today he flip-flopped on his highly controversial unfunded plans to scrap the 45p tax rate for top earners.

Then he took to the stage at the Conservative Party conference to defend the measures, telling delegates: "I can be frank. I know the plan that was put forward just 10 days ago has caused some turbulence.

< p>"I understand. I understand. We are listening and have listened, and now I want to focus on delivering key elements of our growth agenda."

He also said, in what appears to be a critique of Conservative governments under the Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson: 'For too long our economy has not grown enough, the path ahead of us was one of slow and managed decline.'

US Treasury spokeswoman Liberal Democrat Sarah Olney said: "Laughing at the turmoil caused by this botched budget is an insult to the millions of people already facing spiraling mortgage costs.

"This should be her first and last speech conference as chancellor."

1664829044Some Tory MPs "talk about getting rid of Liz Truss'

Nick Timothy, former Number 10 chief of staff under Theresa May, said he remained "very, very difficult to recover" after the mini-budget disaster rous.

He said some MPs were 'talking openly' about how Ms Truss could be kicked out of Downing Street, although he cautioned: 'I think anyone would assume that ago before she was fired or had to leave as prime minister, I think that's too much of a stretch at this point.