Tony Abbott appointed to Britain's Board of Trade with the backing of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson - ABC News

Former prime minister Tony Abbott has been appointed as an adviser to Britain's Board of Trade after a flurry of criticism over previous statements.

Key points:

• Former PM Tony Abbott has been appointed as an adviser to the UK's Board of Trade
• The unpaid role involves promoting UK trade interests to other countries
• Mr Abbott has faced widespread criticism in the lead up to the appointment, relating to comments he has made over the years

The unpaid role, which will involve Mr Abbott promoting the UK's trade interests across the globe, was announced late on Friday afternoon in the UK after Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave Mr Abbott his backing.

Since news broke Mr Abbott was in line for the role last week there have been waves of criticism from both sides of politics in the UK — over previous comments made by Mr Abbott — the criticism saw him labelled a misogynist, sexist and climate change denier.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he had "real concerns" over the appointment and would not pick Mr Abbott if he were the prime minister, while Conservative MP Caroline Nokes said his appointment would be "awful".

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"This is such a bad idea, I'm not sure I can come up with words for how awful I think it is," she told the BBC.

"He's a misogynist, he has very poor views on LGBTQ rights and I just don't think this is a man who should be anywhere near our Board of Trade."

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also took aim at Mr Abbott over comments he made about COVID-19 during a speech to a London think tank on Tuesday, where he said that some older people should be allowed to die naturally.

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Ms Sturgeon said the comments were "disgraceful".

"The idea that anyone would take that view is offensive and wrong," she told Sky News on Thursday.

"Tony Abbott is a misogynist, he's a sexist, he's a climate change denier.

"In my view, he's not the kind of person who should be a trade envoy or any kind of envoy for the United Kingdom."

Just before the announcement Prime Minister Boris Johnson said while he did not agree with "sentiments" Mr Abbott had expressed in the past, he supported him becoming a trade envoy for the UK.

"What I would say about Tony Abbott... this is a guy who was elected by the people of the great liberal, democratic nation of Australia," Mr Johnson said.

"It's an amazing country, it's a freedom-loving country, it's a liberal country — there you go, I think that speaks for itself."

Mr Abbott is returning to Australia after a short self-funded trip to the UK where he gave the controversial speech to the Policy Exchange think tank and met with several UK Government figures, including Home Secretary Priti Patel.

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He refused to be drawn into speculation about the role or the criticism he had faced, with his spokesman saying the former PM "does not respond to personal abuse".

ABC

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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMibmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTA5LTA1L3RvbnktYWJib3R0LWFwcG9pbnRlZC10by1icml0YWlucy1ib2FyZC1vZi10cmFkZS1ib3Jpcy1qb2huc29uLzEyNjMyNDc20gEnaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAuYWJjLm5ldC5hdS9hcnRpY2xlLzEyNjMyNDc2?oc=5

2020-09-04 17:02:00Z
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