'The jury's out': Liz Truss slammed over reply to 'Macron, friend or foe?' question
"Emmanuel Macron, friend or foe?"
The question was put to Liz Truss, the overwhelming favourite to become the next British prime minister, at a Conservative campaign event in Norwich on Thursday night.
"The jury's out," she replied, to laughter and applause from the audience. "But if I become prime minister I will judge him on deeds not words."
The exchange was light-hearted but as foreign secretary, Truss is still Britain's chief diplomat in a caretaker government. France and the UK are NATO allies as the West seeks to act in unity defending Ukraine against Russia's war.
Labour accused Truss of a "woeful" lack of judgement. Two former Conservative ministers also criticised her, one saying the foreign secretary had committed a "desperately serious error".
Rishi Sunak — Truss' rival in the race to succeed Boris Johnson but who is 30 points behind according to the latest polls — did not hesitate when asked the "friend or foe" question about Macron, choosing the first option.
Relations between France and the UK have often been tense in recent years, strained by Brexit and its ongoing fallout. There have been clashes over fishing rights, migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats and passport checks at borders.
Although she backed "remain" in the 2016 EU referendum, Liz Truss has since picked up the Brexit mantle and is now one of its most fervent supporters. She has led UK negotiations with Brussels over Northern Ireland and piloted the recent parliamentary bill to override part of the Brexit treaty covering arrangements in the UK territory.
Truss' euroscepticism casts her as the direct opposite to Macron, one of the EU's most enthusiastic backers.
"Liz Truss using the last weeks of her leadership campaign to insult the
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