What Southampton's Rishi Sunak said after officially becoming Prime Minister

Mr Sunak, born and raised in Southampton, said he was determined to “fix the mistakes” made by his predecessor Liz Truss.

Speaking on the steps of Downing Street, the new Prime Minister said the country is facing a “profound economic crisis”.

Mr Sunak said Ms Truss was “not wrong” to want to deliver economic growth but that mistakes had been made in doing so.

READ MORE: Rishi Sunak's policies and what to expect from him as Prime Minister

Mr Sunak said: “I want to pay tribute to my predecessor, Liz Truss.

“She was not wrong to want to improve growth in this country – it is a noble aim.

“I admired her restlessness to create change – but some mistakes were made.

“Not born of ill-will or bad intention – quite the opposite in fact, but mistakes nonetheless. And I have been elected as leader of my party and your Prime Minister in part to fix them.

“And that work begins immediately. I will place economic stability and confidence at the heart of this Government’s agenda.

“This will mean difficult decisions to come.

“But you saw me during Covid doing everything I could to protect people and businesses with schemes like furlough.

“There are always limits, more so now than ever. But I promise you this – I will bring that same compassion to the challenges we face today.”

READ MORE: Southampton reacts as Rishi Sunak becomes Prime Minister

The new Prime Minister also took an apparent swipe at Boris Johnson as he pledged that his government will have “integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level”.

It was a criticism levelled at Mr Johnson who is currently under investigation over whether he misled MPs over Downing Street Parties.

The controversy led to multiple cabinet resignations, not least from Rishi Sunak himself who wrote at the time: "The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. I recognise this may be my last ministerial job, but I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning."

Mr Sunak then went on to pay tribute to Boris Johnson, saying he would “always be grateful” for his “incredible achievements”.

The new Prime Minister’s speech was heckled by protestors outside of Downing Street who played I Predict A Riot by Kaiser Chiefs and The Imperial March, associated with Star Wars villain Darth Vader, over loudspeakers.

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