Pound’s plummet underlines schoolboy error by Kwasi Kwarteng

Chancellor added to market worries by pledging further tax cuts in full budget planned for later this year

• Pound hits all-time low against dollar
• Q&A: what does the pound's slump mean for the UK?
• Business live updates: sterling plunges

The savage sell-off in the pound in east Asia overnight was further evidence - should any be needed - that confidence in the new Liz Truss government is rapidly draining away.

Sterling fell to its lowest level against the dollar, and despite an attempt at a rally in early London trading, the likelihood is that parity against the dollar will be tested before long. September tends to be the month for a sterling crisis - and so it has proved again.