Sunak warns of ‘difficult’ economic choices as he becomes British PM

LONDON – New British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak warned the nation is facing a “profound economic crisis” as he pledged to fix the “mistakes” of his predecessor Liz Truss, who resigned after her economic policies triggered turmoil in the financial markets.

The freshly appointed Conservative leader braced the nation for “difficult decisions to come” as he made his first speech after meeting King Charles III.

Sunak, 42, became the UK’s first Hindu PM, the first of Asian heritage and the youngest for more than 200 years.

He was appointed prime minister after Charles accepted the resignation of Truss after just 49 days in office, making her the shortest-serving leader in history.

In his speech from Downing Street, Sunak said it was “only right to explain why I’m standing here as your new prime minister,” saying: “Right now our country is facing a profound economic crisis.”

He said it is the lingering aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic and Vladimir Putin’s destabilizing war in Ukraine.

Sunak said Truss was “not wrong” to want to drive up growth, describing it as a “noble aim.”

He added: “But some mistakes were made. Not born of ill-will or bad intentions – quite the opposite, in fact. But mistakes nonetheless. I’ve been elected as leader of my party and your Prime Minister in part to fix them – and that work begins immediately.”

He vowed to place “economic stability and confidence at the heart of this government’s agenda,” after the financial chaos triggered by Truss.

“This will mean difficult decisions to come,” he said.