Fresh controversy over Tony Abbott’s Brexit trade role

Proposed UK envoy at odds with Boris Johnson's assurances on environment and workers' rights

Tony Abbott, the former Australian prime minister, boasted that he signed deals with China because he was not sidetracked by peripheral issues such as labour and environmental standards", raising further questions over the UK government's reported intention to use him as a trade envoy.

Abbott will reportedly be appointed to the Board of Trade, which advises Boris Johnson and trade secretary, Liz Truss, on future trade deals and will be a vital component of the UK's future post-Brexit trade strategy.