Send British judges around the world to increase UK influence after Brexit, says top Tory
2 min read
Britain should dispatch its judges around the world to boost the scope of the Foreign Office and reassert the UK as a global power, a senior Tory MP declared today.
Tom Tugendhat said Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson should regain “strategic control” over a range of areas and departments to maximise international influence after Brexit.
The chair of the powerful Foreign Affairs Select Committee - who has clashed with Mr Johnson in the past - argued existing respect for UK law could be bolstered as part of the plan.
In a speech in central London, he said Britain could use its “legal tradition” to “help other countries that already have strong legal connections to our own”.
“By lending them judges, foreign investors could be reassured that their investments were secure and our own companies would receive powerful and indeed competitive advantage,” he said at the Royal United Services Institute.
Mr Tugendhat also proposed offering scholarships to foreign students to study English law and using UK expertise to encourage global anti-corruption efforts.
In his speech, the Tonbridge and Malling MP argued the Foreign Office should be granted oversight of Brexit, defence, intelligence, diplomacy and UK aid.
He suggested the Foreign Office could take control of a budget worth up to 5% of GDP to cover the needs of the other departments.
The UK Government has insisted it wants to be global-facing after Brexit - but concerns have been raised that Mr Johnson has been marginalised at the Foreign Office during the negotiations.
Mr Tugendhat said: "Successive foreign secretaries - including the current one - have been hobbled."
He added: “We need to do something you may not have expected me to say. We need to give Boris Johnson more power.”
In answer to a question from PoliticsHome, he said Brexit Secretary David Davis should have no cause for alarm at the proposals.
“I don’t think that David Davis needs to get worried. The machinery of government doesn’t change overnight,” he explained.
“In fact it moves at glacial speed - so I think he is probably OK because we are leaving the European Union in just under a year’s time.”
He argued Brexit was about more than the trade terms of leaving the EU - including its relationship with the rest of the world - giving scope for the Foreign Office to play a more prominent role.
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