Backlash as Aussie ex-PM appointed to key Brexit trade role
THE decision to appoint a ‘gaffe-prone’ former Australian premier as Britain’s post-Brexit trade envoy has been blasted by critics.
Tony Abbott is said to be joining the Board of Trade in an advisory role with a mission to help drum up deals around the world.
But the appointment of the right-wing Brexiteer, 62, was condemned by Labour international trade spokesman Emily Thornberry, who called him an ‘offensive, aggressive, leering, gaffeprone misogynist’.
Trade Secretary Liz Truss will be president of the board, and Mr Abbott – who was forced out of power by his own party in 2015 after just two years in charge – will be appointed to an advisory role, it is understood.
The Oxford graduate will play a role in helping to negotiate new trade deals after Britain leaves the EU at the end of the year. The appointment is yet to be officially confirmed, but a Government source told the Sun: ‘We are delighted to have him.’
There were reports that Miss Truss and Mr Abbott had agreed the appointment over breakfast yesterday after he was granted permission to break the Australian travel ban to fly to the UK. He is expected to return to London – where he was born – next week.
Current Australian prime minister Scott Morrison said last night the appointment was a ‘good hire’ by Boris Johnson as he seeks trade deals with Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the US.
Mr Abbott is a staunch monarchist and friend of the PM who addressed last year’s Tory Party conference, warning that failing to leave the EU would be ‘defeat on an epic scale, hardly matched since the Norman invasion’.
He has also spoken out against the Black Lives Matter movement and was memorably branded a misogynist in a speech by former prime minister Julia Gillard.
Pointing to Mr Abbott’s record on the environment, women and immigration while in power, Miss Thornberry said: ‘On a personal level, it is shameful Boris Johnson thinks this offensive, aggressive, leering, gaffe-prone misogynist is the right person to represent our country overseas.
‘And on a professional level, this is someone with no hands-on experience of negotiating trade agreements, who denies the climate change we believe should be at the heart of our trade policy, and who clearly has no concept of the importance of Britain’s trade with the EU.’
Mr Abbott was ousted as prime minister by fellow Liberal Party MPs after a string of gaffes and amid plunging opinion poll ratings.
It is unclear whether his new position will be paid or unpaid.