U.K.'s Liz Truss under fire over 'jury’s out' remark on French President Macron

The Opposition Labour Party accused Ms. Truss of a "a woeful lack of judgement".

Britain’s prime ministerial hopeful Liz Truss, in the race against former chancellor Rishi Sunak to succeed Boris Johnson as Conservative Party leader, came under fire on Friday over her remarks about French President Emmanuel Macron.

The Foreign Secretary said the "jury is out" on whether Mr. Macron is a "friend or foe" of the U.K. and that if she becomes Prime Minister she will "judge him by deeds, not words".

She was responding to a quickfire question at a hustings event in Norwich on Thursday evening and in response to the same question, Mr. Sunak replied that the French President was a “friend” and has previously said he wants to reset the U.K.'s relationship with Europe if he wins the race to succeed Johnson.

The Opposition Labour Party accused Ms. Truss of a "a woeful lack of judgement" as it would be seen as an insult of one of "Britain's closest allies". Her own party colleagues also took to social media to criticise the comments, with former foreign minister Alistair Burt saying she has made a "serious error" and should have struck a more diplomatic tone.

During the hustings in eastern England, Ms. Truss was asked if the French President was a "friend or foe", to which she replied: "The jury is out." "If I become Prime Minister, I will judge him on deeds, not words," she added.

"You would have thought the foreign secretary was aware we are in a military alliance with France," said former Conservative minister Gavin Barwell in reaction.

Another former Tory minister, David Gauke, said: "There's playing to the gallery and then there's letting the prejudices of the gallery go to your head, especially when now is one of the worst times to try to fragment the West." Ms. Truss' comments have also been picked up by French media, which has highlighted post-Brexit strain in the U.K.-French relationship as well as recent tensions over migrant boat crossings in the English Channel and a new military pact between Britain, the U.S. and Australia called AUKUS.