In his official letter addressed to Truss — which he also published on Twitter — Kwarteng said: “The economic environment has changed rapidly since we set out the growth plan on 23rd September.

“In response, together with the Bank of England and excellent officials at the Treasury, we have responded to those events, and I commend my officials for their dedications.

“It is important now, as we move forward, to emphasise your government’s commitments to fiscal discipline.

“The medium-term fiscal plan is crucial to this end, and I look forward to supporting you and my successor to achieve that from the backbenches.”

Jeremy Hunt has been appointed as the new chancellor of the exchequer, replacing Kwarteng.

This page will be updated throughout the day with comments from industry experts — stay tuned to read the latest opinions from the market.

4:09pm

Eli Korman, chief investment officer and head of development finance at TAB: 

"The market has been in steady decline since the new government partnership of Truss and Kwarteng; it was clear that something had to change and it wasn't going to be Truss.

"Financial markets crave stability, and unfortunately, Kwarteng only caused instability. Jeremy Hunt is more of a known entity within the government and will be a familiar face to voters and business owners.

"This will hopefully provide confidence to the financial markets and give a platform for stability that the economy desperately needs."

3:15pm

 Nigel Green, CEO at the DeVere Group:

“The sacking of Kwarteng and the humiliating climb down on corporation tax will not be enough to calm markets and restore investor confidence in UK plc. There’s likely to be a brief relief rally in financial markets, but it will not be sustained.

“Why? Because it all smacks of incompetence. There will remain an underlying lack of confidence. After all, Kwarteng was merely the mouthpiece for Truss's economic agenda.

“This whole sorry debacle has blown a massive hole in investors’ trust in the UK.

“Besides a possible nominal relief rally, I am not convinced the sacrificing of Kwarteng and the latest U-turn on corporation tax will do much to restore investor confidence. The markets will reflect this. It’s too little, too late.”

2:46pm

Alastair Hoyne, CEO at Finanze

"In my view all it will do is create further concern and uncertainty in the market. The plan was good, we just needed to let the markets settle and then stick to it.

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"Now we face an even greater storm, with a new incumbent who may end up reversing all decisions to date."

2:30pm

Paresh Raja, CEO at Market Financial Solutions

“This whole episode has tarnished the reputation of Truss and her government to such an extent that it’s hard to see how she can remain in power without calling a general election.

“Truss and Kwarteng tried to punch their way out of trouble with a bold, 'unashamedly pro-growth' mini-budget in late September. But in the three weeks since, the flip flopping over policies and criticism they have received – not to mention the need for Bank of England intervention in the market — has simultaneously eroded confidence in their leadership and damaged the UK economy significantly.

“The new chancellor Jeremy Hunt has a very difficult task as he attempts to navigate the country out of the fiscal crisis it’s in. But at least the bar has been set very low by his predecessor – surely the only way is up. Let’s hope now for a little stability and sensible decision-making. We don’t need to pull rabbits out of hats; we need sound economic policy and a clear plan that consumers, investors and businesses can confidently rally behind.”

1:52pm

Mark Robinson, managing director at Albion Forest Mortgages:

"The current government have been like fish out of water since the mini-Budget.

"It feels like the Game of Thrones in politics lately, with everyone fighting among themselves and not caring about the people they actually govern; unfortunately, winter is coming and they are not prepared.

"The only way out of this spectacular mess is a general election, and I don't think Truss is the one to lead the Conservatives in that election."

1:45pm

Lewis Shaw, founder of Shaw Financial Services:

"Truss is a pound shop Thatcher with no mandate from the country.

"We need a general election now; we're scraping the barrel so hard we're through the bottom.

"The current administration has no ideas or leadership and has torpedoed our economy. If that's not a good enough reason to turf them out, I don't know what is."

Andrew Montlake, managing director at Coreco:

“This is officially now a government without a mandate, a plan or a clue.

"The Conservatives know that Truss will never be able to turn people around after this and that whenever an election is called, they will be annihilated.

"Their only chance is to install a Sunak and Mordaunt double-act to restore some sense of calm maturity to proceedings to see the country through hard times.

"This may not be enough, though, as the sense of outrage among the British people will linger for a long time."