Liam Fox calls business execs lazy and ‘more interested in playing golf’
Trade Secretary believes those not taking advantage of new opportunities should be sanctioned
BRITAIN has become lazy and fat, the Trade Secretary has claimed.
Dr Liam Fox said business execs were more interested in playing golf than exporting products.
In an extraordinary outburst, he claimed firms were not prepared to take advantage of trade deals he was planning to negotiate.
At a drinks reception for Right-wing Tory activists in the Commons on Thursday, he was overheard saying those who did not take advantage of new export opportunities could face sanction.
He said: “If you want to share in the prosperity of our country, you have a duty to contribute to the prosperity of our country.”
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The minister — responsible for forging Britain’s place in the world after Brexit — said: “This country is not the free trading nation it once was.
“We have become too lazy and too fat on our success in previous generations.”
Dr Fox called for a culture change.
He said firms must start thinking about exporting as a duty rather than an opportunity. And he had a dig at companies who “choose not to because it might be too difficult or too time-consuming or because they can’t play golf on a Friday afternoon”.
Firms have expressed concerns to PM Theresa May that the “hard Brexit” tactics favoured by Dr Fox would damage British industry.
Business groups declined to comment on Dr Fox’s remarks. But one privately said they were “unhelpful”.
Last night, Downing Street made clear his comments did not represent the view of the Government.