Liz Truss¡¯ plan for growth, melding the biggest tax giveaway in half a century with Thatcherite deregulation, is a straight-up gamble with Britain¡¯s future, and even before her chancellor of the exchequer had finished delivering it on Friday the bet was starting to sour.

The market¡¯s verdict on the ?220 billion (?34.2 trillion) policy blitz set out by Kwasi Kwarteng was swift and devastating. The sterling crashed below $1.11 for the first time since 1985, taking its slump for the year to date to 19%. Five-year gilts posted their biggest ever daily decline.

¡°The markets will do what they will,¡± Kwarteng, 47, said when challenged in the House of Commons over the mayhem that he had unleashed.