UK urged to sack Tony Abbott as trade adviser for joining climate sceptic group

The UK government is being urged to sack one of its trade advisers after he joined a thinktank that has denied the scale of the climate crisis and campaigned against net zero.

Tony Abbott, a former Australian prime minister, announced this week that he had joined the Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF).

But sources at the Department for Business and Trade said Abbott would not be dismissed, despite an outcry from parliamentarians and climate campaigners.

The Board of Trade is headed by the trade secretary, Kemi Badenoch, who has also previously questioned net zero.

The Guardian approached Tony Abbott for comment.