The British government appointed former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Friday September 4th to a body responsible for promoting British foreign trade, a choice which even before its formalization sparked controversy.
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Head of Australian government from 2013 to 2015, Tony Abbott, 62, was appointed an adviser to the trade office, a body revived by Boris Johnson's government, as the UK seeks to forge trade partnerships after Brexit.
Negotiations are underway with the European Union, the United States, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
During his tenure as head of the Australian government, Tony Abbott took a hard line on illegal immigration, opposed same-sex marriage and was skeptical of the human causes of the climate crisis.
Julia Gillard, who preceded him as head of government, accused him of misogyny.
Before the official announcement, Boris Johnson disagreed with the many criticisms coming in particular from the Labor opposition and LGBT associations and stressed that Tony Abbott had been "
elected by the people of the great liberal democratic nation of Australia
" .
Tony Abbott is one of 16 personalities, some of whom are members of the UK government, in the Trade Office, a body that has an advisory role to the UK executive.
Its members do not have a "
direct role
" in concluding trade agreements, the government said in a statement.