Rishi Sunak has taken office as Britain's third prime minister within 50 days, saying he was appointed to fix the errors made by his predecessor, Liz Truss, who was forced to resign after only 44 days in office and causing widespread market turbulence.
The 42-year-old Sunak's leadership was confirmed when he met King Charles III at Buckingham Palace, where he was invited by the monarch to form a government on Monday.
Sunak addressed the nation on Tuesday outside 10 Downing Street, warning about "a profound economic crisis" in the country.
"The aftermath of COVID still lingers, Putin's war in Ukraine has destabilized energy markets and supply chains the world over," he said.
Sunak also criticized her predecessor, saying, "some mistakes were made" that were not "borne of ill will or bad intentions" but were "mistakes nonetheless."
"And I have been elected as leader of my party —your prime minister — in part to fix them, and that work begins immediately," he said.
He vowed to "place economic stability and confidence at the heart of the government's agenda. This will mean difficult decisions to come."
Sunak, a former chancellor of the Exchequer, was elected party leader by fellow Conservative lawmakers on Monday, just days after Truss resigned from office following the humiliating collapse of her tax cuts plans, which further plunged the country into economic turmoil.
Rishi Sunak wins Tory leadership race to become UK’s next prime minister
Rishi Sunak wins Tory leadership race to become UK’s next prime minister
Sunak, 42, faces the enormous task of steering a deeply-divided country reeling from years of economic and political turmoil.
Sunak had lost to Truss in an earlier race to appoint a new leader after the then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned in July.
The new prime minister is now expected to begin appointing new cabinet figures in another reshuffle at the top of British politics.
Johnson congratulated him on his appointment as prime minister, urging Tory party members to give Sunak their full support.
"Congratulations to (Rishi Sunak) on this historic day; this is the moment for every Conservative to give our new PM their full and wholehearted support," Johnson wrote on Twitter.
Sunak served as finance minister under Johnson. The youngest UK prime minister in modern British political history, the incumbent is the first person of color to lead Britain. His parents are of Indian descent and moved from East Africa to the UK in the 1960s.
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In Kiev, Britain’s Sunak pledges extra military aid to Ukraine
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to provide an extra 60 million dollars in military assistance to Ukraine, saying his country would stand by Kiev’s side “until Ukraine has won” the war with Russia.
Sunak met President Volodymyr Zelensky in a visit to the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, on Saturday. He said Britain “will continue to stand with you... until Ukraine has won the peace and security it needs and deserves.”
He announced a new air defense package worth $60 million (£50 million), according to a Downing Street statement. The package includes "120 aircraft guns, radar and anti-drone equipment," said the UK prime minister.
Zelensky, for his part, praised a "meaningful and useful visit for both our countries" during a joint press conference. He said the duo discussed "the possibilities of protecting European and Ukrainian energy security" and “our capabilities in protecting the Ukrainian sky, as well as defense cooperation in general.”
On Twitter, Zelensky said, “With friends like you by our side, we are confident in our victory.”
UK to supply Ukraine with advanced air defense missiles
UK to supply Ukraine with advanced air defense missiles
Britain will supply Ukraine with advanced air defense missiles capable of shooting down cruise projectiles, following Russian strikes on Kiev and other Ukrainian cities in recent days, UK Defense Minister Ben Wallace says.
Ukraine has been at war with Russia since President Vladimir Putin declared a “special military operation” in late February. The Russian president said the campaign was to “de-Nazify” Ukraine.
Ever since, the Unite States, Britain and their Western allies have supplied Kiev with military aid, despite warnings from Russia that the weapons were being used to strike residential areas of the Russian-held Donbass and prolong the war.
The UK has sent more than £2.3 billion in military assistance to Kiev, including more than 5,000 NLAW anti-tank weapons and M270 multiple launch rocket systems.
