Truss hosts at Chevening after clash with Raab over use
LIZ TRUSS has for the first time invited guests to a country seat traditionally reserved for the Foreign Secretary, in the wake of a row with Dominic Raab over who gets use of the property.
Ms Truss yesterday shared a photo of herself and her counterparts from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania walking in the grounds of Chevening House, Kent.
Mr Raab, who was demoted from foreign secretary to Justice Secretary at the last reshuffle but gained a new role as deputy prime minister, was said to have objected to losing use of the house and insisted he was allowed to visit.
In a further blow to his standing in Whitehall, it was revealed he has not been asked to head the Government while the Prime Minister is on holiday.
A source denied that Ms Truss’s photo shoot was intended to show Mr Raab she had taken ownership of the house. “There’s nothing deliberate to it – it’s business as usual and an event that Liz inherited when she became Foreign Secretary,” a government source said.
It came as Downing Street admitted Mr Raab had not been put in charge of the Government while Mr Johnson is on holiday, despite his latest appointment.
“The Prime Minister continues to be in charge as is always the case,” his spokesman said.
Ms Truss and her counterparts used yesterday’s meeting to strengthen their partnerships to counter “malign actors”, which the Foreign Office named as Russia, Belarus and China.
She said: “The UK and our Baltic partners are champions of democracy and its associated freedoms. Today, foreign ministers Eva-maria Liimets, Edgars Rinkēvičs, Gabrielius Landsbergis and I committed to advancing those freedoms.”