Babiš: First foreign trip as minister will involve court appearance

Andrej Babiš, who will be named Czech deputy prime minister and minister of finance on Wednesday, says the day after he is appointed he will travel to his native Slovakia to give court testimony in a slander action he has taken against allegations he collaborated with the secret police in the communist era. The billionaire businessman, whose ANO party came second in elections in October, made the comments in an interview with Monday’s Právo. Mr. Babiš said he would be criticised if he did not go to Bratislava for the hearing. He reiterated his claim that he never collaborated with the StB, adding that the files of the secret police’s biggest agents had been shredded immediately after the Velvet Revolution.