Liam Fox is so short of experienced trade negotiators that his delegation to Washington for talks on a post-Brexit deal had virtually no experience of negotiating trade deals, Unearthed can reveal.

In contrast, the 77-strong US delegation included seasoned trade officials with decades of negotiations under their belts.

The office of the US trade representative alone sent 20 officials with direct experience of negotiating and enforcing trade deals around the world.

The talks covered a range of subjects, including the controversial issue of agriculture and sanitary trade barriers – which is likely to have included discussions about lifting import restrictions on US products such as chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-reared beef.

The list of attendees and agenda from the first meeting of the US-UK trade and investment working group were obtained by Unearthed under the US freedom of information act.

Read the FOIA documents here

The attendee list reveals that trade secretary Liam Fox brought a delegation of 27 UK officials to the talks in Washington – the majority of which were senior staff from the department for international trade (DIT) and the department for exiting the EU (Dexeu).

Unearthed analysed the list and could not find one UK official with direct experience of negotiating trade deals.

Poorly prepared

A bilateral deal with the US is at the heart of trade secretary Liam Fox’s post-Brexit strategy – but questions have been raised over the ability of the UK to negotiate a fair deal with a much larger trading partner.

Speaking to Unearthed, shadow trade secretary Barry Gardiner said: “Liam Fox appears so desperate for a quick deal with the US that he is ready to sacrifice our health and safety, animal welfare and environmental standards for it.”

“But to have no clear idea of what he wants in return and to be without the experienced negotiators to deliver it risks making the UK look naive with our international trading partners,” he continued.

The department for international trade declined to comment on the experience of its delegation, but said:

“The UK-US trade working group held its inaugural meeting on 24 July and although it’s too early to say exactly what would be covered in a potential deal, this group will identify areas where we can work together to strengthen current and future trade and investment ties”.

“Early discussions will focus on our immediate priority of providing commercial continuity for US and UK businesses as the UK leaves the EU, and begin to lay the groundwork for potential negotiations on an ambitious free trade agreement.”