Liz Truss made a fleeting, impassive appearance in the House of Commons as her premiership appeared to crumble around her.
The prime minister had snubbed Labour’s urgent parliamentary question on Truss’s decision to to appoint Jeremy Hunt as the new chancellor – and sent Penny Mordaunt, the Commons speaker, to deputise.
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But the move raised more questions about the grip Truss has of her party.
Mordaunt’s initial explanation that the PM was “detained on urgent business” prompted howls of laughter from the Opposition benches, and failed to reassure MPs.
Stella Creasy, a Labour MP, suggested that based on what they had been told, the prime minister is “cowering under her desk and asking for it all to go away”.
Mordaunt added to the confusion by repeatedly suggesting there was “a very good reason” for the prime minister’s no-show – which even led one MP to ask if she was “on the way to the Palace” to tell the King her government is over.
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This is the moment Liz Truss arrives in parliament after she missed an urgent question from Labour about the sacking of Kwasi Kwarteng.
She turned up moments before chancellor Jeremy Hunt faced MPs after U-turning on almost all of the tax cuts the PM made in the mini-budget. pic.twitter.com/e5ZE4NOTUy
But then Truss finally arrived while Mordaunt was still speaking.
She was there, it turned out, to sit alongside her new chancellor as Hunt was due to spell out the “eye-wateringly difficult” decisions that were needed as he tore up her economic strategy.
But things got even stranger from there. Truss did not contribute to the debate, and many on social media pointed out she appeared only to be staring into the middle distance and blinking frequently.
Liz Truss on the front bench, sat stock still with her hands clasped in her lap, blinking frequently. She’s usually one to shout back at whoever is speaking for Labour but not today.
Liz Truss looks utterly broken as chancellor Jeremy Hunt, standing less than two feet away, sets fire to the entire economic strategy on which she was elected prime minister six weeks ago.
She sat next to Hunt for around 30 minutes as he ditched huge chunks of “Trussonomics”.
But as soon as Hunt finished his Commons address and took questions from MPs, Truss departed to accusations of “running off to something else”.
So where was she?
One report suggested Truss had been meeting Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs, who could hold the key to her future if Conservatives revolt en masse.
Liz Truss leaves the Chamber. I’ve never seen anything like this in my life.
What came as more of a shock was that they were joined in the bottom two by Kym Marsh, whose Samba routine had her at joint fifth place on the leaderboard with 32 points of a possible 40.
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After both celebrities performed their dances again, the judges unanimously voted to save Kym and her professional partner Graziano Di Prima.
Matt Goss and Nadiya Bychkova
Guy Levy/BBC via PA Media
Craig Revel Horwood told the couples: “I think both couples went up a major notch, I mean Matt you went fantastically mad in that, I loved it, and Kym you were really great in that. But the couple I would like to save is Kym and Graziano.”
Motsi Mabuse agreed to save Kym and Graziano, while Anton Du Beke added: “I would just like to say you should both be thrilled with the way you performed in the dance-off, it’s the most high-pressured of situations.
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“Matt – that’s your best performance of the whole series, you should be really proud of yourself. But the couple with the higher technical ability, I think for me, going through is Kym and Graziano.”
Kym Marsh and Graziano Di Prima on the Strictly dance floor
BBC/Guy Levy
Although her vote ultimately didn’t count, Head Judge Shirley Ballas revealed she would have chosen the same pair as her colleagues.
Following his elimination, Matt said of his partner Nadiya: “This lovely lady beside me, a world champion with all the patience. I am very honoured to have danced with you.
“And to everyone who is still in, I love you guys, go smash it.”
Nadiya responded: “First I’m so grateful that I got to teach and dance with a music icon.
“But, more important than this, I got the privilege to get to know Matt, for who you really are. Not many people know you and you’re a beautiful soul, very kind human and a real gentleman.”
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Matt and Nadiya in their official Strictly portrait
Conservative MPs broke cover on Sunday to publicly demand Liz Truss resign as prime minister, as replacements wait in the wings.
Crispin Blunt, the veteran MP for Reigate, told Channel 4′s The Andrew Neil Show that Truss should quit “now” as “the game is up”.
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Jamie Wallis, the MP for Bridgend, said “enough is enough”, revealing he had written to Truss to tell her “she no longer holds the confidence of this country”.
Andrew Bridgen, who is known for calling for Tory prime ministers to resign, wrote on his blog: “Liz has sunk her own leadership”.
Behind closed doors, many Tory MPs have already decided Truss needs to be replaced in light of market turmoil and tanking poll ratings.
One backbencher told HuffPost UK before the weekend: “Last week I’d have given her till Christmas. Now I think she’ll be gone by the end of the month.”
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While a former minister said: “Things are just too bad now. She has to go.”
The move by some to go public on Sunday indicates the prime minister’s decision to sack Kwasi Kwarteng as chancellor and replace him with Jeremy Hunt has not calmed things down.
In broadcast interviews on Sunday morning, Tory MPs stopped short of calling for Truss to resign but effectively put her on notice.
Robert Halfon, the chair of the Commons education committee, told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday the PM had been acting like like a “libertarian jihadist” but said he was not calling for her to quit “at this time”.
In a separate interview with Times Radio, Halfon suggested the PM had “hours or days” to save her job.
Alicia Kearns, the new chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee, told Times Radio it was “a very difficult one” when asked if Truss should remain in office.
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“I need to listen to colleagues and speak to colleagues over the coming days. But do we need a fundamental reset? Without question,” she said.
Matt Hancock, the former health secretary, when asked if Tory MPs should install a new leader told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg: “I don’t think we’re there yet.”
But but he added Truss needed to do three things – deliver an economically-credible plan, reshuffle her cabinet and restore trust.
In an interview on the same show, Hunt, the new chancellor, insisted Truss remained “in charge” – despite him having essentially junked her entire mini-Budget.
Truss met with Hunt at Chequers on Sunday to plan the October 31 Budget that will unstitch much of the platform on which she won the leadership.
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Hunt is now considered a possible replacement Tory leader and prime minister. Rishi Sunak, who lost out to Truss in the last contest is also seen as a likely candidate, as is cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt and defence secretary Ben Wallace.
In fact, the former X Factor finalist has revealed that her husband Marcel is so supportive of her Strictly journey that he’s encouraging her to turn up the heat when she performs her Argentine Tango at the weekend.
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Speaking on her Hits Radio breakfast show, Fleur revealed: “[The Argentine Tango is] very hot and steamy and obviously it’s really hard to get into the mode of that!
“It’s quite awkward when you’re in rehearsals. It’s like ‘this is weird’. But we both said we need to do one where we fully go for it, and we commit to that passion and that emotion.
“So we went for it – and it was quite intense – and my husband Marcel was there watching and at the end of the dance he went ‘hmmm… More!’. I was like ‘What? Are you sure?!’. He said, ‘you need to commit to this and you need to give it 100%’.”
Fleur East and Vito Coppola performing together earlier in the series
In Spike Jonze’s 2013 sci-fi romance, Scarlett plays Samantha, an Alexa-like virtual assistant.
Although Scarlett doesn’t actually appear on camera in the movie, her voice is omnipresent throughout, while Joaquin portrays Theodore, who eventually falls in love with the artificially intelligent assistant.
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The two characters share an intimate scene in which Scarlett makes sex and orgasm noises.
She explained to Dax Shepard and Monica Padman on their Armchair Expertpodcast this week that the offbeat sex scene was pretty awkward to put together.
The Black Widow star explained that Joaquin had already filmed his end of the scene, but because the film only features Scarlett’s voice, he needed to join her in a recording studio to work with her on her part.
“Joaquin comes in, we try to get through one take, and he was, like, losing it,” Scarlett recalled.
“He was like, angry … He had already done [the scene], he had done it in person, and now he was with me, in this weird theatre, I’m in this box and [Joaquin] is staring at me, the lights are low, and like, Spike is there. It was so bizarre.”
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“Joaquin was so upset about it, he left the studio,” she added. “He needed a break.”
Scarlett said that thinking back on the scene today gives her “panic” and that she totally understood where Joaquin was coming from.
“You don’t want to hear your voice, ever,” Scarlett said about 46 minutes in. “You definitely don’t want to hear what you sound like having an orgasm. You definitely don’t want to hear what you sound like having a fake orgasm — ew. It’s so gross.”
But some in her top team offered support, taking to Twitter to post an infographic with a quotation from the media briefing, where she said: “We will deliver the strong and sustained growth that can transform the prosperity of our country for generations to come.”
Simon Clarke, the chief secretary to the Treasury, raised eyebrows when he simply tweeted: “The prime minister has my support.”
Therese Coffey, Ranil Jayawardena and Jake Berry followed.
The PM is right to act now to ensure our country’s economic stability – key for families and businesses – and reassure the markets of our fiscal discipline, especially in light of the worsening global economic conditions with Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. https://t.co/LChPGrnhOR
The Prime Minister has acted in the national interest to reassure the markets of our fiscal discipline and provide economic stability. pic.twitter.com/Mf8PgDniX0
But Tom Tugendhat, minister of state for security who attends cabinet, resisted adding a message of support to the graphic – while Kemi Bandenoch resisted adding the graphic to her message of support.
The international trade secretary, who came fourth in the Conservative party leadership contest earlier this year, wrote: “To say it’s been a difficult day would be an understatement. We knew the scale of the challenge this autumn given multiple global headwinds would be unprecedented. Our Prime Minister is working flat out to get the country through these turbulent times. She has my full support.”
But while the pound bounces around the bottom and mortgage rates surge, the slither of a silver lining is the quality of the content on Twitter.
On Friday, the catastrophic mini-budget struck again as Liz Truss sacked her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng as she abandoned plans to freeze corporation tax.
Many political reporters, speaking to Tory MPs, suggested the media briefing – eight minutes, just four questions – made things worse. You can see why they might say that.
FUN FACT: The song ‘American Pie’ is 8 minutes and 42 seconds long. Longer than PM Liz Truss’s press conference.
And there was a reminder not to stand too close to either of the top two in government …
… especially if they are indulging in a spot of campanology.
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And Britain appeared to be living up to its ‘Normal Island’ nickname.
Back in his constituency, Truss critic Michael Gove was getting on with business.
No, there was absolutely no trolling going on as the former cabinet minister referred to “trip hazards”, “strong leadership”, “funding pressures” and “recruitment and retention”.
Good to talk to Surrey Heath headteachers today – providing strong leadership for the next generation. We discussed funding pressures, support for the vulnerable and recruitment and retention. pic.twitter.com/RKfIB5t7Qd
This morning, I was with Cllr Edward Hawkins at Heather Ridge Arcade. It was good to see work being done on trip hazards, and the job will be completed early next month. Edward also updated me on progress on the Ravenscote crossing campaign – all should be fixed by mid November pic.twitter.com/Zm8LL0Ghko
The fever that has taken over the Tory party didn’t start with Liz Truss. Trickle down economics has been the guiding philosophy for 12 years. It has failed.
The Scottish star, who also starred as criminal psychologist Dr Eddie ‘Fitz’ Fitzgerald in ITV’s crime drama Cracker, passed away on Friday, according to his agent Belinda Wright.
His agent of 40 years thanked the medical staff at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert, near Falkirk in Scotland for their “care and diplomacy”.
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In a statement, she said: “My client and friend Robbie Coltrane OBE passed away on Friday October 14. Robbie was a unique talent, sharing the Guinness Book of Records’ Award for winning three consecutive Best Actor Baftas for his portrayal of Fitz in Granada TV’s series Cracker in 1994, 1995 and 1996 with Sir Michael Gambon.
“He will probably be best remembered for decades to come as Hagrid in the Harry Potter films, a role which brought joy to children and adults alike all over the world, prompting a stream of fan letters every week for over 20 years.
“James Bond fans write too to applaud his role in GoldenEye and The World Is Not Enough.
“For me personally I shall remember him as an abidingly loyal client. As well as being a wonderful actor, he was forensically intelligent, brilliantly witty and after 40 years of being proud to be called his agent, I shall miss him.
“He is survived by his sister Annie Rae, his children Spencer and Alice and their mother Rhona Gemmell. They would like to thank the medical staff at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert for their care and diplomacy.
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“Please respect Robbie’s family’s privacy at this distressing time.”
Coltrane was a larger-than-life character whose presence was immediately evident whenever he graced the screen.
The stars of film and TV have paid tribute to the actor, who starred in a number of classic British franchises and shows during his career including 007 and Blackadder as well as Harry Potter.
Hugh Laurie, who acted alongside Coltrane in the period sitcom Blackadder and in the sketch series Alfresco, recalled fond memories of his time with the actor.
“I hope it’s OK to spout memories: I used to ride with Robbie Coltrane between Manchester and London in his sort-of-restored MGA,” Laurie tweeted.
“I’d roll him cigarettes while he discoursed on the ways of the world, and I don’t think I’ve ever laughed or learned so much in my life.”
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The Bond franchise’s long-term producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, described the actor’s death as a “tragic loss to the world”.
In a joint post to Twitter, they added: “He was an exceptional actor whose talent knew no bounds.
“He was beloved to Bond audiences as Valentin Zukovsky in GOLDENEYE and THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH as well as to millions who saw him in his multitude of roles.
“We shall miss him as a dear friend. Rest in peace Robbie.”
Harry Potter stars were also among those who remembered their time with Coltrane fondly.
Emma Watson, best known for her role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films alongside Coltrane, has paid tribute to the actor who “made it a joy to be Hermione”.
“Robbie was like the most fun uncle I’ve ever had but most of all he was deeply caring, and compassionate towards me as a child and an adult,” Watson wrote on her Instagram story with a picture of the two of them.
“His talent was so immense it made sense he played a giant – he could fill ANY space with his brilliance.
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“Robbie, if I ever get to be so kind as you were to me on a film set I promise I’ll do it in your name and memory.
“Know how much I adore and admire you. I’ll really miss your sweetness, your nicknames, your warmth, your laughs and your hugs. You made us a family. Know you were that to us.
“There was no better Hagrid. You made it a joy to be Hermione.”
I hope it’s OK to spout memories: I used to ride with Robbie Coltrane between Manchester and London in his sort-of-restored MGA. I’d roll him cigarettes while he discoursed on the ways of the world, and I don’t think I’ve ever laughed or learned so much in my life.
Born Anthony Robert McMillan in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, on March 30 1950, Coltrane took his the stage name in a tribute to jazz saxophonist John Coltrane.
After working in theatre and comedy, he secured a role in BBC comedy series A Kick Up The Eighties, which brought him further roles in The Comic Strip Presents movies The Supergrass (1985) and The Pope Must Die (1991), and a series of comedy sketch shows.
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He also memorably appeared as dictionary creator Samuel Johnson in Blackadder The Third in 1987 before reuniting with the cast for the 1988 special Blackadder’s Christmas Carol.
Coltrane also appeared in eight films with a former member of Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
Eric Idle was his opposite number in Nuns On The Run (1990) and National Lampoon’s European Vacation (1985).
He also played Big Jazza in the TV mini series Tutti Frutti, where he appeared in six episodes.
One of his highest-profile TV roles was in the 1990s playing Dr Eddie “Fitz” Fitzgerald, a forensic psychologist in the TV series Cracker (1993).
<img class="img-sized__img landscape" loading="lazy" alt="Robbie Coltrane with his OBE after receiving it from the Queen at Buckingham Palace.” width=”720″ height=”363″ src=”https://www.wellnessmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/robbie-coltrane-harry-potter-and-cracker-actor-dies-aged-72-2.jpg”>
Robbie Coltrane with his OBE after receiving it from the Queen at Buckingham Palace.
Andrew Parsons via PA Wire/PA Images
It was not until his performance as KGB man Valentin Zukovsky in Bond film Goldeneye (1995) that he became internationally-known, revisiting the same character in The World Is Not Enough.
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It led to him securing a role in the lucrative Harry Potter franchise for which he was personally selected by author JK Rowling, which led to appearances as Rubeus Hagrid in all the eight films.
Coltrane’s collection of accolades culminated with an OBE award from the Queen in 2006 for services to drama.
In an interview with The Scotsman in April 2014, Coltrane revealed he was writing his own memoirs after reaching a reflective stage in his life.
He said: “I’m writing my biography at the moment.
“I just think I’ve lived such an interesting life. I’ve written three books, I’ve made more than 700 hours of television, I’ve made 78 movies, I’ve made a lot.
“I’ve lived in New York, I was in Britain when alternative comedy happened, I was in Tutti Frutti, I was in Cracker, I’ve been fortunate enough to be connected with a lot of really important moments in drama, and then there is Harry Potter, obviously.”
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Coltrane won three Baftas for his work in Cracker and also won an outstanding achievement award from Bafta Scotland in 2011.
Apart from acting and comedy, his talents also extended to voicing characters for animated films such as Brave in 2012 where his voice was used to bring colour to the character Lord Dingwall. He was also the voice of the Gruffalo in the 2009 TV film.
After a break from television, he returned to the small screen in 2016 for the Channel 4 drama National Treasure, where he played a comedian accused of raping a 15-year-old girl several years earlier.
Based on Operation Yewtree, Coltrane worked alongside Dame Julie Walters in the topical series which was broadcast in autumn 2016.
In his later years, he appeared less frequently in film and television, but returned to be interviewed for HBO’s Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return To Hogwarts – where he spoke of how his legacy as Hagrid would live long beyond him.
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Speaking on the special, he said: “The legacy of the movies is that my children’s generation will show it to their children, so you could be watching it in 50 years’ time easy.
The 90s TV personality appeared on stage at the ceremony alongside her Challenge Anneka co-star, Dave the sound man, to present the prize for Best Quiz Game Show.
A video package showing clips from nominated shows Beat the Chasers, In for a Penny, Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel and The 1% Club was played, but things went awry when it came to announcing who had one.
As the camera then cut back to Anneka, she proclaimed: “The 1% Club!”
The audience then began cheering, but as no music played, Anneka quickly realised her mistake.
“No!” she said, before then reading out the list of nominations again.
As she then declared Beat The Chasers as the winner, the show’s host Bradley Walsh appeared to not have realised he’d actually won.
However, as his co-stars headed to collect the prize, he then joined them on stage.
Krishnan Guru-Murthy brought Wednesday’s edition of Channel 4 News to a hilarious end after a guest used some choice language during the broadcast.
As part of the live show, Krishnan interviewed journalist Gillian Tett about cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg after he claimed that the recently-announced mini-budget was not responsible for the market turmoil in the UK.
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She responded: “To use a non-technical term, that is pretty much bollocks.”
“I think for the most part it really was the budget and the way it was delivered and the message inside, which sparked the beginning of the crisis,” Gillian added.
As the show drew to a close, Krishnan responded to Gillian’s use of the term “bollocks”, revealing he’d done some quick Googling to decipher whether or not it was inappropriate.
Krishnan Guru-Murthy in the Channel 4 News studio
“Before we go, I’ve had time to clarify whether that word Gillian Tett used to describe Jacob Rees Mogg’s explanation was within the rules,” he told viewers, smart-phone in hand.
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“And on the Ofcom regulator website, it describes [the word] as ‘medium language, potentially unacceptable, less problematic when used to mean nonsense’.”
However, Krishnan then added that Channel 4 did technically have cause to apologise for a somewhat unexpected reason.
“I should, however, apologise to people who are relying on subtitles, for whom it was spelled ‘bullocks’,” he added, before concluding: “That’s all for tonight.”
Krishnan’s comments certainly raised a smile among viewers, as the clip quickly began doing the rounds on social media:
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What a sign off from Krishnan. Excellent programme as usual.
Award winning TV. The government’s excuses are “b*llocks”. Even better, at the end of the programme Krishnan Guru-Murphy apologises to viewers for the automatic subtitles misspelling the word as “bullocks”. Superb! pic.twitter.com/qfbTZ26Jl3
