Liz Truss has insisted she does not want to “reinstate” herself as prime minister, a week after saying she had “unfinished business” with the Conservative Party.
Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister had previously declined to rule out standing to be Tory leader, saying it was “never wise to rule anything out in politics”.
But in an interview with Sky News On Sunday, Ms Truss appeared to do just that, saying her new book was “not trying to reinstate myself as prime minister”.
Asked directly whether she would like to return to Downing Street, she said: “No.”
Appearing on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Ms Truss again refused to apologise for the banking crisis, pointing out that “mortgage rates have gone up across the world”, and reiterated her criticism of Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey.
She said: “The issues that I faced in office were issues of not being able to deliver the agenda I’d set out because of a deep resistance within the British economic establishment.
“I think it’s wrong to suggest that I’m responsible for British people paying higher mortgages.
“That is something that has happened in every country in the free world.”
Labour has already accused Ms Truss of engaging in a “twisted victory lap”, holding her responsible for rising mortgage rates and home repossession claims since her brief tenure in Number 10.
Ms Truss, however, pointed the finger at the Bank of England Governor for the market turmoil.
She said: “I faced real resistance and actions by the Bank of England that undermined my policy and created the problems in the markets.”
Earlier in the week, the former prime minister called for Andrew Bailey’s head and demanded a “proper investigation” into the central bank’s response to her 2022 mini-budget.
Despite her criticism of the Bank chief, Ms Truss confirmed on Sunday she never met Mr Bailey.
“I actually had a meeting set up and wanted to meet him, but I was advised that would be a bad idea,” she said.
“Perhaps I shouldn’t have taken that advice, but that advice came from the Cabinet Secretary, and what I didn’t want to do is further exacerbate the problems … But what I was very, very concerned about is the country was in a serious situation.
“I didn’t want to exacerbate that situation by making it worse … In retrospect, yes, I probably should have spoken directly to the Governor of the Bank of England at the time.”
Ms Truss also confirmed she has never met Mr Bailey in person, only ever by Zoom, and would be happy to meet him at some point.