Chancellor To Speak @ ~1615BST As Fallout From Tax U-Turn Continues

Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng is expected on stage at around 1615BST (1115ET/1715CET) to deliver his speech to the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, England. The speech comes after the chancellor announced a U-turn on the planned abolition of the upper 45% tax rate, in what has come as a major blow to the credibility of the gov't.

• Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNfyNfzR65k
• Chancellor said the abolition of the 45p rate of tax had 'become a distraction'. Given the seemingly staunch ideological convictions of Kwarteng and PM Liz Truss their hands had essentially been forced by the markets (with UK assets hit hard over the past week) and their own MPs, with a number of Conservative MPs criticising the plans outright at a time of rising inflationary pressures on households. Following U-turn, gov't likely to face accusations of being 'in office but not in power'.
• Could be a delay to the speech, with journalists reporting that the conference site has been locked down by police, with nobody allowed in or out, due to an 'unconfirmed incident'.