Saturday, June 03, 2023
Boris Johnson giving away the kingdom
The Independent reports that Boris Johnson has been accused of causing “embarrassment” for Britain after blundering into a £10bn trade deal concession with Australia in farcical scenes.
They say that over a chaotic dinner in No 10 in early 2021, an Australian official is reported to have cobbled together an agreement over meat import quotas on his way to the loo, which he rushed to get Mr Johnson to sign before the final course:
Liz Truss, who at the time was serving as international trade secretary and later tried to unpick the deal, is said to have been told later: “Your boss has conceded the whole kingdom.”
Darren Jones, the chair of the Commons business and trade committee, said the events would “make our professional trade negotiators weep ... this is just an embarrassment”.
And David Henig, a leading trade expert who helped set up the government’s Department for International Trade after the 2016 Brexit vote, told The Independent that, under Mr Johnson, the UK had begun to be seen as a “soft touch”.
The scenes, first reported by Politico, were even picked up internationally. Former US trade official Wendy Cutler said it underscored the detailed nature of trade talks and the “danger” of having “one’s leader at the head of the table”.
The deal saw the then prime minister agree to measure beef imports by the weight of only cuts of meat, rather than the entire cow, which is much heavier – effectively signing off a massive increase in how much meat Australia can send to Britain, it is alleged.
Apparently realising that the deal was too good to be true, Australian high commissioner George Brandis scrawled down the unexpected bonus and fled to the loo. On the way, he gave the piece of paper to an aide to hurriedly scan and turn into a trade document – before it was returned to the dinner table for Mr Johnson to sign.
In an extraordinary move, Mr Johnson is said to have told the Australian delegates, who included the country’s prime minister, that he had agreed to the deal because he wanted to apologise to Australia for Britain’s decision to join the EU 50 years ago.
A furious Ms Truss was reportedly told by the gleeful Australians that her boss, Mr Johnson, had already “given away the kingdom”, according to a former minister involved in the talks.
Britain’s post-Brexit trade deal with Australia has long been controversial. It has been condemned as a sell-out by British farmers, while former environment secretary George Eustice has said the government “gave away far too much for far too little in return”.
A spokesperson for Mr Johnson said the Politico report was “total nonsense”, but the website said it had spoken to five senior people involved in the negotiations on either side.
Once more Brexit, Boris Johnson and the Tories have let down British farmers.
They say that over a chaotic dinner in No 10 in early 2021, an Australian official is reported to have cobbled together an agreement over meat import quotas on his way to the loo, which he rushed to get Mr Johnson to sign before the final course:
Liz Truss, who at the time was serving as international trade secretary and later tried to unpick the deal, is said to have been told later: “Your boss has conceded the whole kingdom.”
Darren Jones, the chair of the Commons business and trade committee, said the events would “make our professional trade negotiators weep ... this is just an embarrassment”.
And David Henig, a leading trade expert who helped set up the government’s Department for International Trade after the 2016 Brexit vote, told The Independent that, under Mr Johnson, the UK had begun to be seen as a “soft touch”.
The scenes, first reported by Politico, were even picked up internationally. Former US trade official Wendy Cutler said it underscored the detailed nature of trade talks and the “danger” of having “one’s leader at the head of the table”.
The deal saw the then prime minister agree to measure beef imports by the weight of only cuts of meat, rather than the entire cow, which is much heavier – effectively signing off a massive increase in how much meat Australia can send to Britain, it is alleged.
Apparently realising that the deal was too good to be true, Australian high commissioner George Brandis scrawled down the unexpected bonus and fled to the loo. On the way, he gave the piece of paper to an aide to hurriedly scan and turn into a trade document – before it was returned to the dinner table for Mr Johnson to sign.
In an extraordinary move, Mr Johnson is said to have told the Australian delegates, who included the country’s prime minister, that he had agreed to the deal because he wanted to apologise to Australia for Britain’s decision to join the EU 50 years ago.
A furious Ms Truss was reportedly told by the gleeful Australians that her boss, Mr Johnson, had already “given away the kingdom”, according to a former minister involved in the talks.
Britain’s post-Brexit trade deal with Australia has long been controversial. It has been condemned as a sell-out by British farmers, while former environment secretary George Eustice has said the government “gave away far too much for far too little in return”.
A spokesperson for Mr Johnson said the Politico report was “total nonsense”, but the website said it had spoken to five senior people involved in the negotiations on either side.
Once more Brexit, Boris Johnson and the Tories have let down British farmers.
