Liam Fox’s trade department has spent more than £1 million on overseas trips and missions in an effort to maintain economic ties with key markets and pave the way for post-Brexit trade deals.

Ministers and officials made 376 foreign visits in the two years after Britain voted to leave the European Union.

Dr Fox, the international trade secretary, ran up a travel bill of £189,000. His department was set up by Theresa May after the 2016 referendum to deliver trade deals with countries such as the United States and India.

Top-level staff ran up total overseas bills, including flights, hotels and meals, of £1,009,810 between July 2016 and June 2018. Domestic trips over the same period cost £92,789. Government procurement cards were used to spend