Bill of £1m to help find trade negotiators

The government has spent more than £1 million on recruitment consultants in a bid to find trade negotiators with the necessary skills to strike deals once Britain leaves the EU.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) spent £1.15m on recruitment agencies since July 2016, official figures show. It comes amid accusations that the department is struggling to hire specialists needed to hammer out the trade deals, with ministers confirming just one appointment so far.

The details emerged through parliamentary questions tabled by Labour peer Lord Adonis, which showed the cash was paid to “organisations for services relating to the recruitment of staff ”.

The vast sum of money spent on on recruitment consultants is likely to be a major source of embarrassment for ministers.

“It is common knowledge around Whitehall that DIT have only managed to recruit a tiny number of experienced trade negotiators despite all this money on headhunters,” Lord Adonis said.