Otis Oat Milk part-owned by former Trump aide

The country’s first local oat milk producer, Otis Oat Milk, has allowed Donald Trump’s former aide Chris Liddell to become a shareholder. Director Chris Wilkie said Liddell, a New Zealander who worked as deputy chief of staff in the Trump Administration, was one of about 27 investors the company brought on in May. Liddell now owns just less than 1.8 per cent of the Dunedin-based firm. Wilkie said accepting investment from Liddell was ‘‘something that could be spun in a very negative way’’. But he noted Liddell’s involvement in initiatives such as Predator Free Wellington and that he had previously chaired the New Zealand environmental charity Next.