Liz Truss backs Donald Trump to win US presidential election

Liz Truss has endorsed Donald Trump to win this year's US presidential election, saying the "world was safer" when he was in the White House.

The former prime minister said the world was "on the cusp of very, very serious conflict" and needed "a strong America more than ever".

Her comments came as the first of Mr Trump's four criminal trials began.

Ms Truss was speaking ahead of the publication of her book - her account of her time in Number 10.

Her brief stint in power made her the shortest-serving prime minister in Britain's history.

The former PM, who recently spoke at a pro-Trump conference in the US, said the West's "opponents feared the Trump presidency more" than the Democrats under Joe Biden.

Speaking to the BBC, Ms Truss said Mr Trump was more aggressive towards Iran and China. She also praised Mr Trump's support for Ukraine, approving the sale of anti-tank Javelin missiles, despite his Republican allies' recent attempts to block military aid to the country.

"I'm not saying that I agree with absolutely everything he's ever said," she said.

But she added: "I do agree that under Donald Trump when he was president of the United States, the world was safer.

"I want to work with fellow conservatives to take on what I believe is a real threat of Western society and civilization being undermined by left-wing extreme ideas."

This includes supporting Nigel Farage "becoming an MP" if he were to re-join the Conservative party, she told the BBC.

Speaking to the Newscast podcast, Ms Truss said the founder of the political parties Ukip and Reform UK "believes in conservative values - I think it's a shame he's not in the Conservative Party".

In her interview, Ms Truss argued she was forced out of office after 49 days by powerful establishment figures.

Ms Truss stood down in October 2022, after Tory MPs revolted against her when a series of U-turns on her economic plan sapped her authority.

She denied her fall from office was humiliating, saying: "It was difficult. Absolutely. Was it humiliating? I wouldn't use that word actually."

She said she had gone into the job with the intention of changing things, and hadn't succeeded.

She added: "But is that really worse than not trying in the first place? Is it worse than being dishonest and claiming I was going to try and do things and then not do them? Is it worse than being in Number 10 and not doing anything? I don't think so personally, which maybe I think differently from other people."

Ms Truss said her and Kwasi Kwarteng's tax-cutting plan to promote growth, was "undermined by organisations" like the Bank of England and the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR).

Civil servants had also failed to warn her "the UK economy was uniquely exposed" to so-called Liability Driven Investments (LDIs) - which invest in government bonds because they are usually so stable.

The Bank of England was forced to start buying back government bonds after these LDIs came close to collapse - which in turn could have forced them to rush to sell other assets.

She said: "I have spent many months getting the blame, people saying it's all my fault, people criticising me, trashing me.

"Yet the Bank of England had a very, very significant role in what happened. The Office of Budget Responsibility had a very significant role in what happened.

"I haven't seen them get anything like the level of scrutiny or questions that I've got."

Challenged on whether she was casting about for someone to blame, she said, "I'm not saying I'm perfect", but argued that she didn't have the whole picture when making decisions.

A Bank of England spokesperson said: "The Bank has already set out its response to the LDI crisis in full, including to Parliament, and has nothing more to add."

Ms Truss argued for the removal of institutions such as the OBR, and for Andrew Bailey stepping down as the governor of the Bank of England.

Divesting of power from democratically elected officials has left minsters "impotent", Ms Truss said, adding: "Politicians have ended up having responsibility without power, and quangocrats have ended up having power without responsibility and more job security - as I found out."

Ms Truss's prognosis is a complete overhaul of the political system, including "abolishing quite a lot of things".

International organisation like the United Nations (UN), which she says no longer has "a purpose", are also on the chopping block.

"The UN Security Council as it's currently constituted with both China and Russia on is not keeping the world safe.

"At present, it has been very ineffective at dealing with international situations, in fact, positively damaging."

And she said that the Conservative party was currently split "between those people like me, who think we need fundamental institutional change in Britain, that our institutions have been captured by leftist ideas" and others "not prepared to go that far".

She said: "We need a sufficient number of MPs who understand what the problem is, and are prepared to vote to abolish the quangos."

The full interview is available on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds.