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Liz Truss: Remembering the Secretary of State for Environment's defiant stance on cheese

She will not rest until we are all eating British produce

Heleb Nianias
Tuesday 12 May 2015 07:00 EDT
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Liz Truss: Her name cropped up in every story about Tory A-list resistance
Liz Truss: Her name cropped up in every story about Tory A-list resistance (Getty Images)

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It seems to many that the Cabinet reshuffle has been done with heavy-handed irony in mind.

Michael Gove being made Justice Secretary despite having supported capital punishment in the past, and BBC licence fee-hating John Whittingdale's appointment as Culture Secretary are two eye-catching examples.

But Liz Truss - who will remain Environment Secretary - has always known her onions when it comes to her specialist subject.

A video of Truss speaking with extreme intensity at the Conservative party conference in 2014 has re-surfaced.

"When it comes to British food and drink, we have had never had it so good," she said.

"As well as exporting our fantastic food abroad, I want to see us eating more British food here in Britain.

"At the moment, we import two-thirds of all of our apples. We import nine-tenths of all of our pears. We import two-thirds of our cheese. That is a disgrace.

"From the apples that dropped on Isaac Newton’s head to the orchards of nursery rhymes this fruit has always been part of Britain, it’s been part of our country."

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