Britain’s former trade supremo: ‘Whitehall is deeply resistant to progress’

Sir Crawford Falconer was headhunted by Theresa May in 2017 to make Global Britain a reality by seizing the opportunities of Brexit and lining up trade deals around the world.

He believes the world is on the brink of a new “ Yalta moment” when the rules of the game can be redrawn by Britain , the US and their allies, and that with the right political leadership, the future is bright.

Sir Crawford says the old system of expecting the US to be the economy of last resort for world trade and to fix everyone else’s problems no longer works.

He argues that a new model needs to be agreed by democratic nations that agree on how China , Russia and other countries that “don’t play by those rules” should be handled on an international level.

Sir Crawford was ambassador to the World Trade Organisation before being snapped up by the Tories to head up a negotiation team within the Department for Business and Trade to do deals around the globe.

Four years after Britain officially left the EU , does he think the UK has fully seized the opportunities of Brexit that Boris Johnson and others promised? “I think it’s too early to answer that question.”.