STORY: Truss, appointed prime minister on Tuesday (September 6), has vowed immediate action to address one of the most daunting sets of challenges for an incoming leader in post-war history, including soaring energy bills, a looming recession and industrial strife.

She chaired a meeting of her new cabinet on Wednesday before making her parliamentary debut as Conservative Party leader, going head-to-head with opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer in the high-profile Prime Minister's Questions.

She ruled out paying for any new energy package by imposing a windfall tax on big business.

"I'm on the side of people who work hard and do the right thing...that is why we will keep corporation tax low, because ultimately we want investment right across our country," Truss told lawmakers.

A source familiar with the situation told Reuters that Truss was considering freezing energy bills in a plan that could cost towards 100 billion pounds ($115.33 billion), surpassing the COVID-19 furlough scheme.

Investors have expressed alarm at the scale of extra borrowing that the government will probably need to undertake to fund its support scheme and the tax cuts promised by Truss during her leadership campaign.