LABOUR TRADE GAFFE

SHADOW foreign secretary Emily Thornberry was left redfaced after official figures further highlighted her blunder on Britain’s trade with the rest of the world.

The Labour politician, standing for re-election as Islington South MP, told an audience on Tuesday that Britain would have trouble exporting food to Australia as ‘it will go off’.

But yesterday figures published by the Food and Drink Federation showed the UK exported £80.4m worth of food and drink to Australia over just the first three months of the year, up 25.5pc on the same period last year. During that time the UK also exported £53.8m of food and drink to Japan, £76.4m to Singapore, and £82.1m to the UAE.

Trade in refrigerated meat between Britain and the region is thought to stretch back to the late 19th century.