Brexit Role For Truss Who Said Uk Better Off In EU

The minister put in charge of Brexit talks following the resignation of Lord David Frost is a former Remain supporter who issued a number of dire warnings against Britain leaving the EU during the 2016 referendum campaign.

- Matt Mathers

Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, is now tasked with dealing with Brussels after Lord Frost, the de-facto Brexit chief, quit his role citing concerns about the Tory party's direction of travel under prime minister Boris Johnson.

His exit came just days after a major climbdown by the UK on the role of the European Court of Justice in Northern Ireland, following ongoing disputes with the bloc over the protocol.

During the Brexit referendum campaign, Ms Truss said she was backing remain “as I believe it is in Britain's economic interest and means we can focus on vital economic and social reform at home”.

In a May 2016 speech to the Food and Drink Federation, she warned delegates that voting to leave the EU would have a negative interest on the hospitality industry – as well as the wider economy – and ultimately make Britons poorer.

“I do think it's in all of our interests to communicate the real impact on the ground; the real impact this would have on jobs [and] livelihoods ... it would mean fewer jobs and that would feed through to people's incomes, she told the assembled audience.

“And that just doesn't affect me and you in this room, that affects everyone in the overall economy. So even if you're in a company that doesn't export, the company that does export will be buying less of your services and I think that's a message we really need to get across in the closing weeks of this campaign.”