Jeremy Hunt refuses to say Liz Truss is a 'confident leader' who 'has a grip on country'

New chancellor Jeremy Hunt has refused to back Liz Truss as a confident leader who has a grip on the economy.

In a sign of just how weak Truss’s political authority is after an extraordinarily damaging week, Hunt instead chose to sympathise with his new boss, saying she is “under extraordinary pressure”.

Hunt was appointed as chancellor on Friday after the sacking of Kwasi Kwarteng, but is now widely seen as more powerful than the prime minister herself. In interviews on Saturday, he effectively trashed the policies that brought Truss to power last month.

Appearing on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Hunt was asked if he thinks Truss is a “confident leader who’s got a grip of what’s going on in the country”.

Watch: Jeremy Hunt: Who is the UK's new chancellor?

He would only say: “I think she’s been under extraordinary pressure. I know how difficult that job is having seen many prime ministers at close range over many years.

“But I would rather a prime minister who recognises when things need to change [and] is prepared to take difficult decisions. To change your chancellor is a very difficult decision for a prime minister to take - she’s been prepared to do that.”

After just 40 days as PM, Truss is battling to stay in power amid widespread reports of Tory plots to replace her.

Rishi Sunak - the defeated contender in this summer's Tory leadership contest and former chancellor - and defence secretary Ben Wallace have been among the names flagged as potential replacements.

In an attempt to shore up her leadership on Friday, she sacked Kwarteng, who was made the scapegoat for the pair’s disastrous “growth plan” announced in the mini-budget only three weeks prior. It caused major economic turmoil amid market concerns about the impact of the £43bn tax giveaway on public finances.

But Tory anger only grew following a brutal press conference later that day. Organised with the intention of re-asserting Truss's authority, the briefing lasted only eight minutes and was abruptly ended by the PM after she took just four questions from the media.

Read more: Daily Star running live stream that asks: 'Can Liz Truss outlast this lettuce?'

Amid this disruption, Hunt was asked why people should trust the PM. He said: “Because she’s listened. She’s changed. She’s been willing to do that most difficult thing in politics, which is to change tack.”

The chancellor is now beginning the job of putting together a fresh budget for 31 October.

He said the next two weeks will see the government go through a process of taking “difficult decisions” that will affect “lots of walks of life”.