Trade minister Dan Tehan attacked by allies of UK counterpart Liz Truss

Allies of the UK trade secretary launched a remarkable attack on an “inexperienced” Australian minister, saying he would be put in an “uncomfortable chair”.

Allies of the UK trade secretary have branded her Australian counterpart “inexperienced” and said she planned to put him in an “uncomfortable chair” on the eve of their talks in London.

The comments directed at Trade Minister Dan Tehan have been met with hilarity and disbelief in Canberra, with experts saying the “bizarre” remarks could be a setback in what should have been amicable negotiations.

Sources close to Liz Truss told the UK Telegraph she was planning to throw down the gauntlet over “glacially slow progress” in trade deal talks, saying Australia should “show us the colour of their money”.

They said Australia needed to show “some serious movement” on a free-trade agreement after negotiations had stalled since Mr Tehan took the job in December.

Allies of UK Trade Secretary Liz Truss have launched a ‘bizarre’ sledge against her Australian counterpart. Picture Kym Smith

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“She plans to sit him down in the Locarno Room [in the UK Foreign Office] in an uncomfortable chair, so he has to deal with her directly for nine hours,” the source said.

They also described Mr Tehan as “inexperienced compared to Liz”, saying he “needs to show that he can play at this level.”

But the comments have not gone down well in Canberra, with the remarks about inexperience seen as strange since Mr Tehan worked at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) from 1995, serving as a diplomat from 1999-2001 and as senior adviser to the trade minister from 2002-2005, before becoming director of trade policy and international affairs with the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan was labelled ‘inexperienced’ in what some described as a counterproductive negotiating tactic. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nicole Cleary

Dr Jeffrey Wilson, research director of the Perth USAsia Centre at the University of Western Australia, said the reported remarks were “bizarre” and would “damage trust between the ministers”.

“In nearly 20 years working on trade negotiations, I have never seen personal attacks deployed as a negotiating tactic,” he told the newspaper. “It is an unfortunate but serious setback for what should have been friendly negotiations.”

One minister told the ABC the “bit of sledging” was “likely to be counterproductive” to achieving a deal, adding that it would probably be blamed on the media.

Another joked of the uncomfortable chair comment that “antique wasn’t built for comfort”.

Thrilled to be named Honorary Australian of the Year in the UK for 2021.

Now let's get the deal done! @DanTehanWannon@AusHCUK
🇬🇧🇦🇺 https://t.co/DpGAp4Ey4A

— Liz Truss (@trussliz) January 24, 2021

British High Commissioner Vicki Treadell told the broadcaster: “I know the venue that is being used and certainly the chairs in the room in question are very comfortable.”

But appearing to defend the extraordinary attack, she added: “This is a trade negotiation, so there will be tactics on both sides.”

She said that the “political ambition between Britain and Australia is there to get a gold-standard deal.”

A senior DFAT official told the Sydney Morning Herald that if the comment was briefed by a member of Ms Truss’s staff, it was “very disrespectful” as well as a “very bad tactic” that would not work.

UK opposition trade spokeswoman Emily Thornberry told the paper the remarks were a “flagrant display of arrogance and disrespect”.

In January, Ms Truss said on Twitter that she was “thrilled” to be named Honorary Australian of the Year in the UK for 2021, adding: “Let’s get the deal done!”