Liz Truss expected to be named as next British PM

Liz Truss is expected to be named Britain's next prime minister and leader of the Tory Party on Monday, poised to take power at a time when the country faces a cost of living crisis, industrial unrest and a recession.

After weeks of an often bad-tempered and divisive party leadership contest that pitted Truss against Rishi Sunak, a former finance minister, Monday's announcement at 1130 GMT will trigger the beginning of a handover from Boris Johnson. He was forced to announce his resignation in July after months of scandal.

On Tuesday, the winner will travel to Scotland to meet Queen Elizabeth, who will ask the new leader to form a government.

Long the front runner in the race to replace Johnson, Truss, if appointed, will become the Conservatives' fourth prime minister since a 2015 election. Over that period the country has been buffeted from crisis to crisis, and now faces what is forecast to be a long recession triggered by sky-rocketing inflation which hit 10.1% in July.

Foreign minister under Boris Johnson, Truss, 47, has promised to act quickly to tackle Britain's cost of living crisis, saying that within a week she will come up with a plan to tackle rising energy bills and securing future fuel supplies.