Abbott confirmed as trade envoy after PM dismisses misogyny claims
‘Tony Abbott is a guy who was elected by the people of the great liberal democratic nation of Australia’
TONY ABBOTT was last night made a British trade envoy as Boris Johnson defied calls from opposition MPS to block the move over claims the former Australian premier was a “homophobe and misogynist”.
Mr Abbott, who was prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015, will now serve as an adviser to the Board of Trade as the UK attempts to strike postbrexit deals around the world.
Senior Tory MPS praised Mr Johnson for refusing to cave in to demands from Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, and Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister, that Mr Abbott be rejected over past remarks on homosexuality, women and climate change.
The board will be headed by Liz Truss, the Trade Secretary, with Mr Abbott joining a group of advisers, including the Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Ireland secretaries, and four junior trade ministers. Marcus Fysh, the Tory MP for Yeovil, will act as Ms Truss’s deputy.
Other advisers include: Dan Hannan, the former Tory MEP, who missed out on a peerage earlier this year; Patricia Hewitt, the former Labour health secretary; Anne Boden, the founder of Starling Bank; William Russell, the Lord Mayor of the City of London; and Dr Linday Yueh, an economist at Oxford University.
In a sign of potential friction between some of the new appointees, Ms Boden last night appeared to take a swipe at Mr Abbott over his past remarks on women.
Writing on social media, Ms Boden said it was “important that we have challenging voices at such an important body” before sharing an article on a speech by Julia Gillard, a former Australian leader and political rival of Mr Abbott’s, who in 2012 accused him of misogyny. “I support diversity and so did this woman,” she added.
Just hours earlier, during a visit to Solihull, Mr Johnson had been confronted with allegations levelled at Mr Abbott, who was born in London. He replied: “I don’t agree with those sentiments at all, but then I don’t agree with everyone who serves the Government in an unpaid capacity on hundreds of boards across the country. And I can’t be expected to do so. What I would say is this is a guy who was elected by the people of the great democratic nation of Australia. It’s an amazing country, it’s a freedom-loving country, it’s a liberal country. That speaks for itself.”
Mr Abbott’s sister said he would make an “outstanding trade envoy to the UK”. Christine Forster, who is gay, said: “It is nothing short of dishonesty for commentators and politicians who do not know Tony to label him a ‘homophobe and misogynist’ for the purpose of scoring cheap political points.
“As a woman who has always been part of his life and who came out to him as gay in my early 40s, I know incontrovertibly that Tony is neither of those things. He is a man of great conviction and intellect: an unabashed conservative but with great compassion, respect for others, and an indelible sense of doing what is right.”
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph last night, Bob Seely, a Tory MP who sits on the Commons foreign affairs committee, said he was “delighted” Mr Johnson had refused to bow to pressure.
Mr Abbott and the other members of the board will now advise Ms Truss on post-brexit trade policy.