Truss memoir ‘broke Cabinet Office rules’

LIZ TRUSS has become embroiled in a row with the Cabinet Office over her memoir as the watchdog said she had broken the rules by publishing it without formal approval.

Ms Truss divulged a number of conversations and meetings she held with senior civil servants and the Bank of England in Ten Years to Save the West, which was published earlier this week.

The book reveals the end of the former prime minister’s final conversation with the late Queen – who died days into her premiership – in which the former monarch urged her to “pace yourself ”.

The Cabinet Office said parts of the book had broken its ‘Radcliffe Rules’, which mean any books from former ministers’ time in government can be vetted for any sensitive content. A Cabinet Office spokesman said: “This book was submitted to the Cabinet Office for review. While we would not publicise the details of any discussions, we did not agree to the final wording. So the author is in breach of the Radcliffe Rules.”

A source close to Ms Truss said the Cabinet Office said she complied with “all the rules regarding national security and relations with foreign governments. She wanted to ensure the truth was told about the mini-budget and the role of officials and the Bank of England. She believes this is in the public interest.”

Ms Truss’s book places the blame on the Bank of England and the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) for the market reaction that followed the minibudget unveiled by Kwasi Kwarteng, her chancellor, in September 2022.

The political and economic turmoil grew rapidly and she resigned seven weeks after entering Downing Street amid untenable pressure from mutinous Conservative MPS.

Last year the Cabinet Office said Nadine Dorries, the former culture secretary, had also broken the Radcliffe Rules in her book The Plot: The Political Assassination of Boris Johnson. Ms Dorries’s claims included lurid allegations about senior Tory figures.

Ms Truss broke down in tears during a podcast recording yesterday as she recalled the toll her 49-day premiership had taken on her family. In an interview with Chopper’s Political Podcast on GB News, she said: “I find it hardest when it’s to do with my children.

“Most children find out the fallibilities of their parents over a number of years. Mine saw all of mine publicly exposed in very short order.”