The Tory leadership frontrunner was chief secretary to the Treasury when the conversation with officials was recorded five years ago. In the clip, leaked to the Guardian, Ms Truss said those outside London were less likely to be hard workers. He said British workers as a whole also lacked the “skill and application” of foreign rivals, especially those in China. Ms Truss said it was “partly a matter of mindset or attitude” and there seemed little desire to change the work culture to make the UK more prosperous. He also referred to a book he co-authored in 2012, Britannia Unchained, saying a passage from it was “mischaracterized”. The quote said British workers were among the “world’s worst idlers”, but last month he claimed he did not write that chapter and blamed fellow author and current deputy prime minister Dominic Raab. In response to the leaked audio, a source from her team told Sky News: “These half-decade-old comments have no context, but one thing that is as clear today as ever is the need to increase productivity, leading to higher wages and a better quality of life for workers across the UK. “As prime minister, Liz will deliver a high-wage, high-growth, low-tax economy.” Ms Truss, asked about the leaked recording at a hustings in Scotland on Tuesday night, declined to speak in her language but said “we need more productivity and more economic growth” and said she wanted to “unleash those opportunities” voted in 2019. Her damning comments in leaked audio for those outside London will cause particular outrage after she was forced to make a U-turn earlier this month over plans to cut the pay of civil servants outside the capital. It argued at the time that there had been a “deliberate misrepresentation” of its policy, but ended up abandoning proposals for regional pay boards for civil servants or public sector employees. This was despite her campaign releasing specific details. The audio emerged moments before she appeared at a hustings in Scotland alongside her rival, Rishi Sunak. He told the audience of Scottish Tory members that he was a “child of the Union” as he tried to woo their votes. In the leaked recording, he said: “If you look at productivity, it’s very, very different in London to the rest of the country. “But basically this has been a historical event for decades. “Essentially, it’s partly about mindset and mindset, I think. It’s the work culture, basically. If you go to China it is very different, I can assure you. “There is a fundamental issue with British work culture. Essentially, if we are going to be a richer country and a more prosperous country, that has to change. “But I don’t think people want to change that. “There’s a little thing in Britain about wanting the easy answers. “That’s my reflection on the election and what has gone before, and the referendum – we say that all of Europe is causing these huge problems, it’s all these immigrants that are causing these problems. But actually what needs to happen it’s more, more bribery. It’s not a popular message.” Image: The audio was leaked moments before Ms Truss faced a clash in Perth Read more: Eleven Tories back Liz Truss for next leader in latest ‘No sign’ of 40 new hospital boost promised by Tories in 2019 Labour’s shadow work and pensions secretary, Jonathan Ashworth, said Ms Truss’ comments were “extremely offensive”. “Earlier this month, Liz Truss suggested that workers outside London should take a pay cut,” he said. “Now it has been revealed that he said people outside London don’t have the right culture or attitude. “With wages shrinking thanks to the Tories’ failure to get inflation under control and years of lackluster growth, it’s very insulting for Liz Truss to essentially call British workers lazy. “I would have hoped that she had moved on from the days of the ‘Britannia Unchained’ fiasco, but that seems to be the plan for her future government.”
