BOURNEMOUTH West MP Conor Burns has been named a trade envoy to Canada.

He was one of 10 people appointed to unpaid trade posts – including former England cricketer Lord Botham, made an envoy to Australia.

The government said the envoys would help UK businesses find new export and investment opportunities and promote trade abroad.

Mr Burns tweeted that he was “looking forward to getting stuck in” as trade envoy.

He said Canada was “an important ally with shared values” and that “we can and should do much more together”.

“Both the brothers from Canada who taught me and my Dad’s job in Canada Life have given me an affection for Canada,” he said, referring to his Catholic day school in Hertfordshire run by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart.

International trade secretary Liz Truss said: “Our trade envoys play a key role in delivering our ambitious global trade agenda, and I am delighted the Prime Minister has appointed 10 trade envoys who will boost opportunities for British businesses in some of the world’s fastest growing markets.

“By boosting exports, promoting inward investment and creating high-value, high-paying jobs, our Trade Envoys will help us build back better from Covid-19, ensuring every part of the UK benefits from our trade strategy.”

Trade policy minister Greg Hands said: “From Norway to New Zealand, Pakistan to Brazil, our Trade Envoys will help increase UK trade with some of the world’s most exciting and dynamic markets and showcase the UK as a great place to invest.”

Mr Burns, a long-standing ally of Boris Johnson, was made a trade minister soon after Mr Johnson became prime minister in July 2019.

But he resigned from the job in May 2020 after a committee found he used parliamentary privilege to “intimidate” a member of the public in a financial dispute involving his father.

The full list of envoys appointed on Monday were: Lord Botham, Canada; former Labour MP and Brexit campaigner Baroness Hoey, Ghana; Stephen Timms MP, Switzerland and Liechtenstein; David Mundell MP, New Zealand; Mark Eastwood MP, Pakistan; Marco Longhi MP, Brazil; Conor Burns MP, Canada; Lord Walney (John Woodcock), Tanzania; Felicity Buchan MP, Iceland and Norway; Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP, Cameroon.