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Wednesday morning news briefing: Reverse tax cuts, says IMF

Morning briefing
Morning briefing

In an extremely rare intervention, the International Monetary Fund has urged Liz Truss to reverse the decision to abolish the top rate of income tax.

The world's lender of last resort heaped pressure on Ms Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng, the Chancellor, as it urged them to use his fiscal plan in November to change course.

The IMF said it was "closely monitoring recent economic developments in the UK" and is "engaged with the authorities" and warned that the fiscal stimulus risked undermining the Bank of England's efforts to curb inflation.

As political editor Ben Riley-Smith reports, the highly unusual attack on the economic policy of a G7 country drew an angry reaction from senior Tories.

It came as the rating agency Moody's joined the IMF in warning over the Chancellor's plans, raising the spectre of a downgrade to the UK's outlook and branding the mini-Budget "credit negative".

The pound fell again this morning after the shock interventions. Follow the latest in our live blog.

Meanwhile, the Treasury is drawing up plans to make it easier for hundreds of thousands of renters to get mortgages after the Bank of England signalled that interest rates are set to rise sharply – as new figures showed that landlords will be pushed into the red if rates continue to rise.

For many midlife homeowners, this will not be the first time they have faced a financial housing shock.

Three Telegraph writers explain how they survived the double whammy of rising rates and plummeting prices in the early 1990s. Share your own memories.

Christmas chaos looms in Royal Mail walkouts

Postal workers are threatening weeks of disruption in the run up to Christmas with plans for 19 days of strikes in October and November.

Union leaders have launched a significant escalation in their industrial dispute with Royal Mail, warning of severe disruption to deliveries during popular shopping periods such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the run-up to Christmas.

It comes after the Royal Mail last week terminated a string of agreements struck with unions since its privatisation in 2013, arguing that the Communication Workers Union was using them to frustrate attempts to modernise the service and compete with parcel delivery services such as Evri and DHL.

Oliver Gill reports on the spectre of concerted action by trade unions.

Paltrow takes a shine to her birthday suit at 50

Most people would dress up for a 50th birthday celebration. Gwyneth Paltrow is not like most people. The actress turned lifestyle guru marked the milestone by stripping naked for a photoshoot inspired by Goldfinger.

In an accompanying essay, Paltrow explained she had learned to accept "the marks and the loosening skin, the wrinkles" that come with age.

If she suffers from any of those things, our correspondent Anita Singh writes, they were certainly not evident from the pictures.

Today's political cartoon

Sir Keir Starmer's speech at the Labour party conference is the subject of Blower's cartoon today. Matt is away, but view his latest work.

Also in the news: This morning's other headlines

Blitz on wanted criminals | Hundreds of burglars, robbers and sex offenders are to be hunted down and arrested as part of a 100-day blitz to restore public trust in the police in London. Sir Mark Rowley, the Met Commissioner, has vowed to target wanted offenders and warned courts to expect a surge in prosecutions. Crime editor Martin Evans has more details on Sir Mark's approach to "get the basics right".

Around the world: Putin accused of sabotage

Gas pipe leaks at sea are rare. Three at the same time strongly suggests sabotage. How might that be achieved? After the finger was pointed at Vladimir Putin following a series of underwater explosions that resulted in "unprecedented" damage to the pipelines built to supply Europe with gas, associate editor Dominic Nicholls explores how sabotage of the Nord Stream 2 gas line may have been set up months ago by Russia.

Comment and analysis

Sport briefing: Maguire backed by Southgate

Manager Gareth Southgate has insisted England need an in-form Harry Maguire to give them the best chance of winning the World Cup, and held a heart-to-heart with the defender hours after Monday's game against Germany. The pair spoke after the 3-3 draw in which Maguire made two errors that led to goals for Germany. Maguire, who is out of favour at Manchester United, is expected to be in the World Cup squad. Try our brilliant tool to predict the tournament champions.

Editor's choice

  1. This England, review | Branagh fails to get under Boris's skin – and this drama is a dud

  2. Rock star feud | He is rich, talented and 79 – why is Roger Waters still so angry?

  3. Fashion | Love her or hate her, Kim Kardashian is now setting the agenda

Business briefing: US private equity pumps £367m

Britain's biggest petrol forecourt operator has handed its American private equity owners a £367m dividend after petrol pump sales surged on soaring oil prices. The Telegraph can disclose that Clayton, Dubilier & Rice netted a nine-figure payout from Motor Fuel Group. Meanwhile, Channel 4's chief executive has taken a swipe at Amazon over claims that some of its workers were forced to urinate in bottles.

Travel: 20 amazing all-inclusive hotels

Resorts are reinventing the all-inclusive format with luxury twists, ranging from swim-up suites to spas and gourmet restaurants. Emma Beaumont rounds up 20 hotels that even travel snobs will adore.

Tonight's dinner

Turkish-spiced lamb with onions, yoghurt and pasta | This dish by Diana Henry is perfect for when you crave something more hearty.

And finally... for this morning's downtime

Riding the waves | New experiences can be difficult for autistic children. Georgina Fuller visited the Isle of Wight, hoping that outdoor learning would help with her son's mental health. She describes how a sailing holiday helped him overcome his fears.

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