Government abandons plan to uphold human rights with Brexit trade deals, leaked letter reveals

The government no longer plans to use its Brexit trade deals to spread and enforce human rights around the world, a leaked letter from the international trade secretary revealed.

Writing to MPs, Anne-Marie Trevelyan said human rights would be sidelined in trade negotiations and that she believed 'free trade agreements are generally not the most effective or most targeted to advance human rights issues".

This radical change in approach comes as the UK tries to sign an agreement with Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, all notorious for their poor record. on human rights.