Whisky chief Frost jumps ship to Whitehall for key foreign affairs role

The boss of the Scotch Whisky industry’s trade body is jumping ship to a new role in Whitehall just weeks after claiming that the UK’s exit from the European Union (EU) would deliver major opportunities to the sector.

Sky News understands that David Frost, who has run the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) for three years, is leaving to join the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in a senior post encompassing - but not limited to - international trade.

Mr Frost informed senior SWA members of his move this week, according to industry sources.

He said his decision would be announced within days, and that Julie Hesketh-Laird (Other OTC: LARRF - news) , his deputy at the SWA, would replace him on an interim basis.

The outgoing SWA chief is no stranger to senior positions in Whitehall: he previously worked at the Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills, as director for Europe, trade, and international affairs, where he was responsible for external trade policy, EU issues, and the UK's export controls regime.

The precise nature of his new post was unclear on Tuesday, although his email to SWA members described it as "a role in government in the foreign affairs area".

Any significant involvement in trade relations could revive tensions between Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, and his Cabinet colleague Liam Fox, the international trade secretary.

Mr Frost has sought to emphasise the importance of Scotch Whisky exports since June's EU referendum, pointing to the fact that there were worth nearly £4bn in customs value in 2015.

In new analysis published earlier this month, Mr Frost said:

"Brexit poses challenges and uncertainty but also brings opportunities if the UK can secure favourable bilateral trade deals with key export markets.

"India, for example, is a growing market for Scotch but we are being held back by a 150% import tariff.

"EU talks with India have proved challenging for a decade now and we hope the UK will now take a fresh approach to securing an ambitious trade agreement," he said.

"We want the UK to have an open and liberal trading policy, to put transitional arrangements in place that minimise trade disruption after Brexit, and to negotiate better global arrangements than we currently have.

"An even more trade-focused British embassy network around the world will be needed to make this happen."

The SWA has warned that the referendum result presents a number of uncertainties for its members, but has welcomed Theresa May's commitment to a Great Repeal Bill, which will absorb EU rules into UK law for a period following Brexit.

Mr Frost's resignation, he told members, was unconnected to a ruling last week in favour of the Scottish Government on minimum unit pricing, which the SWA had forcefully opposed.

Mr Frost could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.