Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has reportedly urged predecessor Liz Truss to remain silent on British politics after the former prime minister issued a legal threat against Keir Starmer.
Ms Truss, who led the country for 49 days in 2022, had her lawyers send a 'cease and desist' letter to Sir Keir last week, demanding he stop saying she had 'crashed the economy'.
But he refused, and the highly publicized row only served to remind voters of the economic turmoil led by Ms. Truss, who has become an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump.
A source told the Guardian and Telegraph that Ms Badenoch told her shadow cabinet last week that 'it would be best if Liz kept quiet for a while'.
One shadow minister said Truss's letter to Sir Keir had been 'absurd', adding: 'I think she has gone mad.'
A second added: 'The gist of it was that Liz needed to stop making pointless interventions… that it would be much more helpful if Liz wasn't so loud.'
Lawyers acting for the former Conservative leader accused Sir Keir of making 'false and defamatory public statements' about her record when she stood for re-election in South West Norfolk last July.
A source told the Guardian and Telegraph that Ms Badenoch told her shadow cabinet last week that 'it would be best if Liz kept quiet for a while'.
Ms Truss, who led the country for 49 days in 2022, had her lawyers send a 'cease and desist' letter to Sir Keir last week, demanding he stop saying she had 'crashed the economy'.
A spokesman for Ms Badenoch said he did not recognize any of the quotes attributed to her. But he refused to confirm whether or not Ms Truss and her letter had been discussed by the shadow cabinet.
Ms Truss was among the leading Tories to lose their seats in the 2024 election, losing to Labor after the party wiped out its majority of 26,195 in 2019.
Her record 49 days at Number 10, and its economic fallout, were a key feature of Labour's election campaign – with few Tories prepared to defend her.
The September 2022 mini-Budget revealed £45 billion of unfunded tax cuts, sending financial markets into panic and sending mortgage rates soaring. Mrs Truss was forced to quit within a fortnight of it taking place.
But in their letter to the Prime Minister, seen by MailOnline, her lawyers say: 'We do not agree that any market movement during the relevant period referred to in your defamatory statements can properly be classified as a 'crash of the economy'. of the meaning of those words.'
However, Downing Street wondered whether former Prime Minister Liz Truss would also write to “millions of people across the country who shared Sir Keir Starmer's views.”
Asked whether the Prime Minister stands by his claim, his official spokesperson said: “You have the Prime Minister's language that he absolutely supports in relation to the record of the previous government, and you do not need to accept that from the Prime Minister to take. .
“I think you can ask people across the country what the impact of previous economic policies was on their mortgages and on inflation, and I think you'll get similar answers.”
And the Prime Minister and senior ministers have since repeated this claim repeatedly since the letter was sent.
Last week, Chancellor Rachel Reeves attacked her Tory shadow Mel Stride in a row over the economy, citing Ms Truss.
Asked whether the Prime Minister stands by his claim, his official spokesman said: “I think you can ask people across the country what the impact of previous economic management was on their mortgages and on inflation, and I think you can you will get a similar answer. answers.'
“His economic strategy is to ignore the mistakes of the past, without apologizing to the British people for his part in Liz Truss's mini-budget that crashed the economy,” she said.
And Foreign Secretary David Lammy laid out her economic 'kamikaze' plans.
The September 2022 mini-Budget revealed £45 billion of unfunded tax cuts, sending financial markets into panic and sending mortgage rates soaring. Mrs Truss was forced to quit within a fortnight of it taking place.
Former Tory minister Conor Burns also questioned her decision to take legal action, tweeting: 'I wonder if Liz Truss has thought about taking legal action against Liz Truss due to the serious damage she has done to her reputation inflicted?'
But in their letter to the Prime Minister, seen by MailOnline, her lawyers say: 'We do not agree that any market movement during the relevant period referred to in your defamatory statements can properly be classified as a 'crash of the economy'. of the meaning of those words.'
Ms Truss has admitted her plan to quickly abolish the 45p top rate went too far, but has otherwise defended her failed attempt to boost growth in her doomed 'mini-budget'.
The lawyers highlighted several occasions when Sir Keir said she had crashed the economy, including a TV debate with Rishi Sunak on June 4.
And in his final appeal to voters before the July 4 vote, Sir Keir said voters faced a choice between Labor and “a Tory party that has crashed our economy, left public services in shambles and now gives us Liz Truss 2.0 wants to give with more unfunded expenditure. promises.'
Last year, Ms Truss received an apology from the Cabinet Secretary after Government King's Speech documents written by civil servants described her mini-budget as 'disastrous'.
