ISTANBUL, Oct 24 (Reuters) - The Turkish lira weakened more than 1% to a record low of 9.74 against the dollar in early Asia trade after President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday he had order the expulsion of the ambassadors of the United States and nine other Western countries.

The lira edged back to 9.72 by 1807 GMT from Friday's close of 9.5950. It had already hit record lows last week after the central bank cut its policy rate by 200 basis points, despite rising inflation, in a shock move derided as reckless by economists and opposition lawmakers. (Reporting by Daren Butler; Editing by Alison Williams)