Liz Truss once told former cabinet minister Rory Stewart that she found foreign affairs “really boring” and being Foreign Secretary was bottom of her wish list, he has alleged.
Ms Truss, who has held the senior cabinet role since September 2021, was also accused of seemingly thinking the job is “about Instagram”, by former Downing Street director of communications, Alastair Campbell.
Mr Stewart, who was international development secretary for a period in 2019 but quit the Cabinet after Boris Johnson became party leader, made the comments in the first episode of the new podcast, The Rest Is Politics, which he hosts alongside Mr Campbell.
The former Penrith and the Border Tory MP, who also sat as an independent after being sacked by his party, said there is a sense that “nobody really prioritises foreign affairs, or haven’t for a long time in British politics”, adding that Ms Truss once told him the “last thing” she would want to be was Foreign Secretary.
He said: “I remember when I was running for the Foreign Affairs Committee, as I started, and then later to be chair of (the) Defence Committee, Liz Truss saying to me ‘I can’t understand why you’re obsessed with foreign affairs, I find it really boring – the last thing I want to do is to be Foreign Secretary’.
“Actually she was speaking for a whole generation. All these people wanted to get on the Treasury Committee… nobody wanted to do foreign affairs and defence. Britain was already beginning to turn very, very inward.”
I think he actually has surprised people. I think he's been one of the real performers
Meanwhile, Mr Campbell accused the Foreign Secretary of focusing too much on social media, saying: “Honestly, Liz Truss… she really does seem to think it’s about Instagram. She does seem to think the job is about Instagram.”
Tony Blair’s former advisor added: “You’re the Foreign Secretary, for God’s sake.”
Mr Stewart, who was a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee from July 2010 to June 2014, and chaired the Defence Committee from May 2014 to March 2015, also said he thought the current Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace, was doing a “good job”.
“I think he actually has surprised people. I think he’s been one of the real performers,” he said.
Ms Truss has been approached for comment.
