London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 03, 2025

Tory leadership: Truss criticised for Macron 'jury is out' remark

Tory leadership: Truss criticised for Macron 'jury is out' remark

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has been criticised after she said the "jury was still out" on French President Emmanuel Macron.

Her remark came as she was asked if Mr Macron was a "friend or foe" of the UK at a Tory leadership hustings.

She added that if elected PM she would judge him on "deeds not words".

But Labour's David Lammy accused Ms Truss of "a woeful lack of judgement", saying she had insulted one of "Britain's closest allies".

Ms Truss, widely seen as the clear frontrunner to the next Conservative leader and prime minister, made the remark at the penultimate leadership hustings in Norwich, to loud applause.

Her comment came at the end of the hustings during a series of "quickfire questions" posed by the host, TalkTV's Julia Hartley-Brewer.

When asked the same question Mr Sunak said Mr Macron was a "friend".

Former Conservative minister Gavin Barwell also questioned Ms Truss's comment saying: "You would have thought the foreign secretary was aware we are in a military alliance with France."

Another ex-Tory minister, David Gauke, said: "There's playing to the gallery and then there's letting the prejudices of the gallery go to your head, especially when now is one of the worst times to try to fragment the West."

The UK and France have clashed over several issues in recent years, including migrant boat crossings in the Channel, a military pact between Britain, the US and Australia. and Brexit measures involving Northern Ireland. Mr Macron has sometimes publicly criticised the Conservative government's approach.


During the two-hour long event, Ms Truss and her rival Rishi Sunak were also asked who would make a better prime minister - Boris Johnson or their leadership rival.

Mr Sunak chose Ms Truss, arguing it was important for the country to move forward. But Ms Truss picked Mr Johnson - a decision that earned her applause from the crowd of Conservative Party members.

The pair were also asked about the recent shooting of nine year old Olivia Pratt-Korbel in Liverpool and how they would tackle crime.

Mr Sunak said the shooting was appalling and pledged to make sure there were more police officers on the street and that they "have tools they need to keep us safe".

He expressed concern that "wokeish ideology" was holding back police from using stop-and-search powers.

Ms Truss agreed on the need for more police and said at the moment forces were spending too much time "policing Twitter" instead of "crimes that people care about".

Both reiterated their previously-stated concerns about the level of restrictions during the Covid pandemic, with Ms Truss arguing it had been wrong to close schools.

"We were too draconian," she added.


Analysis by BBC East political correspondent Andrew Sinclair

Among the predicted talk about tax cuts, price caps and the NHS, another issue that kept coming up in the East Anglian hustings: Government funding.

For years local politicians and business leaders have felt that the eastern region loses out and gets ignored. We've received the lowest amount of levelling up funding in the country. Spending on health, transport and education is below average.

Mr Sunak was cheered when he said that levelling up was not just for the North and big cities.

Ms Truss was applauded when she said how hard it was to get a decent mobile signal locally and lamented the time taking to dual the A47.

Both candidates have promised to reform the funding formulas. That's gone down well with local Conservatives.

And in a region with a big farming community, pledges from Ms Truss that farms should produce food not solar panels and Mr Sunak's promise to improve food security landed well.

More light-heartedly, the pair were also asked who they would rather be stuck in a lift with - Labour leader Keir Starmer or Nicola Sturgeon.

Ms Truss opted for Scotland's first minister with the hope she could persuade Ms Sturgeon "to stop being a separatist by the time we got to the ground floor".

She added that the idea of being stuck in a lift with Labour leader Sir Keir was "extremely boring".

Mr Sunak said he would take the stairs.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
×