Scott Morrison hits back at “double standards” accusations
Scott Morrison has been accused of using a diplomatic trip to the UK to take a holiday to explore his ancestry.
It was reported on Monday that Mr Morrison’s office spent weeks planning a side trip to explore his convict family roots, despite suggestions from the Prime Minister that it was too dangerous for Australian travellers to head to the UK.
Mr Morrison reportedly travelled to St Keverne, a small village south of Cornwall, where his fifth great-grandfather was born.
The latest claims have come after he made a stop at the Jamaica Inn in Cornwall while he was in the area as an observer to world leaders at the G7 summit.
A photo of Mr Morrison and his staff was shared by the pub on its Facebook page, with hundreds of annoyed Australians commenting on how they weren’t able to travel.
Mr Morrison hit back against the claims on Monday on 2GB and said both visits were purely on the way to and from airports.
“I wouldn’t describe it like that at all; we had to land in north of London, as opposed to landing down there in Cornwall, because of the fog we stopped off along the way, we had some lunch and [then] stopped off in another location on the way,” he told the radio station.
“After the G7, on the way to the airport we stopped in another place, which just happens to be where my fifth great-grandfather was from, so I think that was pretty innocent. I think [the visit being labelled as double standards] is massively overstating it.”
Mr Morrison has since returned to Australia and is conducting meetings via web conference while self-isolating in The Lodge.
He said he hoped Australians would be able to travel by Christmas of 2022, after the target of June 2022 has become less likely due to recent border closures and delays in the vaccine rollout.
“I would certainly hope so be it in 2022 and I would hope that we can do it as soon as we safely can,” he said.
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