May is told to ‘get a grip’ of Brexiters after latest gaffe
BY TOM GORDON
LIAM Fox has “fundamentally undermined” his ability to represent Britain when it comes to trade after he accused UK companies of being “too lazy and too fat”.
SNP International Trade spokesperson Tasmina AhmedSheikh added that the Brexiter must also apologise.
Fox’s comments provided a fresh Brexit-related gaffe for Prime Minister Theresa May to deal with after her International Trade Secretary launched the extraordinary attack.
Fox said British business was “too lazy and too fat”, with executives preferring “golf on a Friday” to fighting for exports.
His comments, recorded at a drinks reception for the Thatcherite Conservative Way Forward group, provoked a wave of criticism. Downing Street distanced itself from Fox’s “private views”.
Earlier this week, the Prime Minister was also forced to correct Brexit Secretary David Davis after he said it was “very improbable” the UK could stay in the EU single market. Fox, a former GP who is one of the “Three Brexiters”, with Davis and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, said British business culture had to change.
He said: “People have got to stop thinking about exporting as an opportunity and start thinking about it as a duty – companies who could be contributing to our national prosperity but choose not to because it might be too difficult or because they can’t play golf on a Friday.
“We have become too lazy, and too fat on our successes.”
Richard Reed, founder of Innocent Drinks and a vicechair of the Remain campaign, responded by saying he’d “never played golf in my life” and called Fox’s remarks “absolutely disgusting”.
He said: “How dare he? He’s a representative of this country and he turns around and slags us off. He’s never done a day’s business in his life.”
Referring to Fox’s leading role in the Leave campaign, Reed added: “How dare you talk down the country that you damaged?.”
The SNP’s Tasmina Ahmed- Sheikh said: “Theresa May needs to urgently get a grip of her ministers. This is the second time this week she has had to dismiss their comments.”
Labour’s Jonathan Ashworth said the “latest gaffe” was “symptomatic of the Tories’ increasingly shambolic approach to Brexit”.
Terry Scuoler of EEF – The Manufacturers’ Organisation said the remarks were “extremely unwise and very unhelpful” and firms needed support, “not negativity”.
Meanwhile, Scotland’s Brexit Minister, Michael Russell, will attempt to use a series of parliamentary votes to strengthen his negotiating hand with Westminster.
Writing in today’s Sunday Herald (see accompanying article), he says he will open the first debate on the implications of Brexit this week, with more planned on themes including education, farming, the economy and the environment.
Russell, the Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotland’s Place in Europe, also said the best option for Scotland remained full “EU membership”.