FDF welcomes Gove Defra appointment
12 Jun 2017
Food and Drink Federation director general Ian Wright has welcomed the appointment of Michael Gove as the new Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
“It is a big boost that the Prime Minister has appointed one of the cabinet’s heaviest hitters to a ministry so significantly at the heart of Brexit. We very much look forward to working with Mr Gove and his new team,” said Wright.
“With them and with friends from NFU and across UK food and drink we will champion the growth of the industry in the exciting months to come.”
The Prime Minister has appointed one of the cabinet’s heaviest hitters to a ministry at the heart of Brexit
Ian Wright, director general, Food and Drink Federation
Former education secretary Gove was a leading figure in the campaign in favour of a UK withdrawal from the EU, having previously been a key player in the Cameron administration.
But he spectacularly fell out with his referendum ally, the now foreign secretary Boris Johnson, in a bid to succeed Cameron as Tory leader and prime minister.
The subsequent election of Theresa May – with whom Gove had publicly clashed – led to his expulsion from the Cabinet last year.
However, the debacle of the Conservative general election campaign renewed pressure on the prime minister to recall Gove. He replaces another high profile Brexiteer Andrea Leadsom.
