Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has cut short his visit to the US for urgent talks in Downing Street, with a U-turn over the mini-budget on the table.

Prime Minister Liz Truss is facing calls to change her plan to calm market turbulence and reassure her party.

Mr. Kwarteng is flying home early from Washington DC for discussions with the prime minister and Conservative MPs.

Reports on Thursday suggested the government was looking at which parts of its tax-cutting plans to ditch.

Many Tory MPs think a further change of plan is inevitable, following a previous U-turn on Ms Truss's plan to scrap the top rate of income tax.

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Pound rises on talk of mini-budget U-turn

A mini-budget announced by Mr. Kwarteng last month - featuring a £45bn raft of tax cuts, funded by borrowing - spooked financial markets and prompted a drop in the value of the pound.

The continuing turmoil prompted an intervention from the Bank of England, which involved buying government bonds to stabilize their value.

The Bank has said it is withdrawing that programme of emergency support as planned on Friday. But the pound has rallied in value following speculation in Westminster that another U-turn was in the offing.

Mr. Kwarteng had been in Washington DC for a meeting of global finance ministers.

Speaking about the change in his travel plans, a source close to the chancellor said he “really wants to engage not only with government colleagues, but also MPs” over the financial plans.

No 11 dismissed a comparison to the Greek financial crisis of 2011, when its finance minister was hauled back from an international meeting to meet the country's prime minister.

Trade Minister Greg Hands told Sky News it was “not unusual” for a minister to cut short an international visit by a day.

The tense atmosphere in Westminster was apparent as the BBC spoke to dozens of sources across Parliament and the government on Thursday.

“It's checkmate, we're screwed," one Tory MP remarked.

“There is no question in my mind, they'll have to junk loads of this stuff and U-turn," another said.

If the government does announce changes to its plans it is not clear when this might happen.

Mr. Kwarteng has said he was "not going anywhere" and when asked if he and Ms Truss would still be in their jobs this time next month, replied: “Absolutely, 100%.”

The chancellor is set to spell out how he will pay for the government's £43bn package of tax cuts and get the UK's national debt falling in a statement on 31 October, alongside an independent economic forecast.

Although the government has already scrapped its plan to scrap the top rate of income tax, this only made up £2bn of the tax cuts announced by the chancellor last month.

While some Tory MPs think the government's tax-cutting plans should be reversed, others believe the help with energy bills should be more targeted.

Among the possible U-turns, there has been speculation the government could reverse its plan for corporation tax.

Ms Truss has pledged to scrap a planned rise to the tax, which was set to increase from 19% to 25% in 2023.

When asked about the positive market response to the speculation of a U-turn on corporation tax, Mr Kwarteng told the Daily Telegraph: “Let's see.”

However, he added that he still thought ensuring “competitive” tax rates for businesses were a “great idea”.

Former home secretary Priti Patel told Sky News the market would now “dictate” the prime minister's decision on corporation tax “primarily because we want to see stability”.

Other scenarios being discussed by some Tory MPs include the chancellor resigning or the prime minister being ousted.

But there is little agreement on what should happen next or who should replace Ms Truss if she is removed.

According to the Times, senior Conservatives are holding talks about replacing Ms Truss with a joint ticket of Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt, who both ran for the leadership this summer.

Unlike the summer leadership contest, MPs would propose just one person to succeed the PM, with the other individual taking a senior cabinet role, the paper reported.

Senior Tories are continuing to call for the government to change course.

Mel Stride, the chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, called on the chancellor to make a “significant” announcement “sooner rather than later”.

However, he told BBC Breakfast that he did not back a change in leadership, saying “the last thing we need is more market turbulence”.

Former minister Johnny Mercer called for a “course correction” from No 10, describing the impact of rising mortgage rates on people who want to buy a home as “politically unsurvivable”.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross called on the prime minister and chancellor to “get a grip" on the economy.

But, asked whether he believed Ms Truss could win the next general election, he replied: “Yes.”

Other Tory MPs expressed support for the prime minister and said she must not reverse her plans.

Sir Christopher Chope, a Truss backer, told the BBC Two's Newsnight: “If we were to increase corporation tax having said that we're not going to, that would be totally inconsistent with the prime minister's policy of promoting growth, growth and growth.”

He added that a U-turn would be a “complete betrayal” of what she believed in, saying he did not think it would not happen.

Wales Office Minister David Davies said the government had to be “flexible” in what he described as an economic “storm”, adding that Mr Kwarteng should remain chancellor. (BBC)

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