The comments made by Kirsten Oswald, the Deputy SNP Leader at Westminster, on 4 September 2020.
If holding misogynistic, homophobic, Trump-backing, climate change-denying views, as well as saying that some elderly people with Covid-19 should be allowed to die, is what qualifies you for a role with this Tory government in promoting the UK internationally then it is not so much Global Britain as it is Little Britain.
The question asked by Ruth Cadbury, the Labour MP for Brentford and Isleworth, in the House of Commons on 3 September 2020.
The Minister said that he welcomed the Government’s appointment of Tony Abbott as a trade adviser, but on Sky this morning, Kay Burley reminded the Health Secretary that the appointee is a misogynist and homophobe, which the International Trade Secretary’s colleague appeared to confirm by saying, “But he’s also an expert on trade.” Could the International Trade Secretary not find an expert for the role who demonstrates positive British values and, by the way, is not a climate change denier?
The comments made by Emily Thornberry, the Shadow International Trade Secretary, on 4 September 2020.
From the first moment Tony Abbott was proposed for this role on Britain’s Board of Trade, I’ve said we need to judge him not just on his despicable personal history of offensive statements and views, but on his equally dismal professional record as well.
Tony Abbott wilfully destroyed what was left of Australia’s car industry after taking office in 2013, with the calculated withdrawal of government support, and the deliberate goading of overseas investors to quit. A once proud industry employing 200,000 workers was left to die.
We cannot have a man like that in charge of trade talks which will have a direct bearing on the future of British car manufacturing in Sunderland, Solihull, Ellesmere Port, Halewood, Burnaston, Oxford and elsewhere, especially when the industry is already under huge economic pressure.
I’ve been saying for the past week we need to listen to the Australians who know Abbott best, and they are warning us loud and clear: do not let this man do to your car industry what he did to ours.
The comments made by Emily Thornberry, the Shadow International Trade Secretary, on 4 September 2020.
There are two factors that should have immediately disqualified Tony Abbott from this role.
First, his history of offensive statements is so long and repetitive that it speaks to serious defects in his character, which is not one I think should be representing Britain on the world stage.
And second, the fact that he has no experience of detailed trade negotiations, no understanding of Brexit, no belief in climate change, no concern for workers’ rights, and no compunction about killing off Australia’s car industry mean, to my mind, that he has no credentials for this role.
Tony Abbott is therefore the wrong appointment on every level, which begs the more important question of why on earth Boris Johnson and Liz Truss have given him the job.
However, with this shambolic excuse for a government, we may continue to be appalled and disappointed at their serial incompetence, but we should never any longer be surprised.