Liz Truss was jeered by opposition MPs as she arrived in the Commons after her mysterious absence from parliament on Monday afternoon.
Commons leader Penny Mordaunt fuelled feverish online speculation after she said there was “a very good reason” the PM could not turn up to answer an urgent question from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.
But Ms Mordaunt said she could not reveal the reason Ms Truss was “detained on urgent business” – before being forced to deny she was “hiding” after the mini-Budget disaster.