The UK business has become “lazy and fat ,” since top managers are more interested in Friday golf games than in exporting goods, says the UK Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox, reports the Times.

According to the minister, London has lost its status of a free player in the international trade. For this reason, manufacturers should stop considering export as a possibility and make it their duty. He also criticized the activities of the British Foreign Ministry. According to him, business will  never prosper, if the ministry headed by Boris Johnson focuses on diplomacy and security issues only. He said that the Foreign Ministry should pay attention to the development and deepening of trade relations.

The speech of Fox gets a strong response among the British entrepreneurs. The co-founder of Innocent Drinks Company, which belongs to Coca – Cola, Richard Reed said that the minister himself has never engaged in any business, whereas Employers’ Federation considered his comments as extremely unwise and useless. Liam Fox is a supporter of Brexit.