Morrison labelled ‘insensitive’
Canberra: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been labelled “insensitive” by Australians stuck overseas after it was revealed he took time out of the schedule at the G7 summit in Cornwall last weekend to trace his Cornish ancestry.
Mr Morrison was already facing a backlash for going to three pubs during his visit to the UK, at a time when most Australians are banned from leaving the country.
Details of Mr Morrison’s personal activities emerged on Sunday in an article on local news website Cornwall Live.
One of the places Mr Morrison visited was Bodmin Jail, which posted on its Facebook page that it had received a “surprise visitor” who had “popped in to hear about the strong Australian connections with many inmates held at the jail”.
He also visited St Keverne, where his ancestor William Roberts was born, and laid flowers for him in the churchyard.
Mr Morrison reportedly wrote in the church’s visitor book: “Thank you for your very kind welcome to
St Keverne. It has been wonderful to return ‘home’ in memory of William Roberts.”
Also in the entry, he thanked Karen Richards from the St Keverne Local History Society who helped him trace his family roots.
After the visit, Mr Morrison went to a local pub — the Three Tuns – along with Australian High Commissioner to the UK, George Brandis.
Ms Richards said: “Contrary to the idea that visiting the Three Tuns was part of a pub crawl, he had come straight from a meeting and was on his way to another event,” she said.
The details of Mr Morrison’s personal activities outside the G7 summit were not revealed by Australian officials at the time, and have now sparked anger from Australians online.
Madeleine Dunne, an Australian living in London, tweeted: “Nice of Australian PM Scott Morrison to explore his family history on his ‘business’ trip to Cornwall. Thanks to his border policies, I haven’t seen my living, breathing family in two years.”ABC