Good luck to May in tackling the UK's export malaise

London

LIAM Fox, the British Secretary of State for International Trade, has put his finger squarely - but not fairly - on the biggest headache Britain has had for years.

In comments to the right-wing Conservative Way Forward group, Mr Fox (one of the overt "Brexiteers" in new Prime Minister Theresa May's government) referred to the anaemic export performance of Britain's major companies, calling their bosses "fat" and "lazy". He claimed they would rather play golf than open up new markets with new products. The Times, which first published the comments, accompanied an opinion piece with the headline, "Don't shoot the clumsy messenger".