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Allister Heath: The imperial EU is blind to the folly of its Brexit treaty
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Biden fears Britain is ‘inflaming’ tension in Ireland and EU
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Johnson and Biden pledge to restart air travel
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SNP accused of trying to ‘railroad’ through Covid powers
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Tory rebels plot new Commons revolt against foreign aid cuts
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The paintings hanging in Boris and Carrie Johnson’s flat
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Coronavirus latest news: Government better without Cummings, says Hancock – watch live
Joe Biden and Boris Johnson will be “all smiles” when they meet for the first time in Cornwall today, a former ambassador has said, despite the backdrop of rising tensions over the Northern Ireland protocol.
Ahead of the G7 summit, it has emerged that Lord Frost was issued with a formal reprimand by America’s most senior diplomat in Britain.
Lord Darroch, former ambassador to the UK, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme there were “issues around the Northern Ireland protocol” but said there was plenty the two men “shared”, particularly on climate change and geopolitics.
“Almost certainly you will see all smiles after the talks,” he added, noting the Atlantic Charter, which has echoes of the agreement struck between President Roosevelt and Sir Winston Churchill, was a “very positive signal of both the personal relationship between Biden and Johnson and how they see the UK”.
But Sir Keir Starmer claimed this “unprecedented rebuke” was proof that Mr Johnson was “undermining our relationship with America”.
Meanwhile, in Westminster Matt Hancock faces a four-hour grilling in front of the same MPs who heard from Dominic Cummings last month. You can watch him live here.
Follow the latest updates below.
10:20 AM
Boris Johnson must show ‘real leadership’ on global vaccines, says Starmer
Reaching a global agreement on Covid vaccines should be the central focus of the G7, Sir Keir Starmer has said.
Speaking in Batley, where he is campaigning ahead of next week’s by-election, Sir Keir agreed it was important the UK should send vaccines to developing countries but said “on its own, it’s not enough”.
He said: “We need a global agreement; we need global funding. That ought to be the most important topic of discussion at the G7 this weekend.
“And, what I want to see from the Prime Minister is real leadership on this.”
10:05 AM
Minister tries to play down US rebuke over handling of Northern Ireland protocol
A minister has tried to play down the implications of the diplomatic rebuke Lord Frost was given by the US, ahead of a key meeting between Boris Johnson and Joe Biden,
Greg Hands, trade minister, appeared to confirm that Yael Lempert handed the Brexit minister a demarche amid “grave concerns” over the UK’s approach to negotiations on the Northern Ireland protocol.
But he insisted that “we agree with the US that there should be negotiation… and we agree on preserving the peace process”.
Mr Hands told Sky News the EU was “following a very officious interpretation of these rules”, and failed to rule out the unilateral extension of grace periods.
“A very important part of that peace process is making sure people in Northern Ireland’s lives are not disrupted… What is the threat to health from sausages being moved from Birmingham to Belfast?”
10:00 AM
Boris Johnson ‘undermining relationship with America’, claims Sir Keir Starmer
Boris Johnson has received an “unprecedented rebuke” from Joe Biden over the Northern Ireland protocol, Sir Keir Starmer has said.
The Labour leader claimed that “on the back of months of chaos, of lack of preparedness and, frankly, the Government misleading the public”, the Prime Minister was now “undermining our relationship with America”.
Speaking in Batley, West Yorkshire, Sir Keir said: “Just as the world is watching, we’re in this situation in Northern Ireland.
“The Government needs to make much more of an effort to settle this, to negotiate and get to a settlement for the people of Northern Ireland and for the world.”
“I’ve worked in Northern Ireland. I know what it means for those communities and the way the Government is going about this is undermining the peace process,” he said. “But it’s now also undermining our relationship with America. So we need to make progress on this.”
09:57 AM
Have your say: Who should Joe Biden back in the sausage wars?
Joe Biden and Boris Johnson are set for their first face-to-face in Cornwall today – and their bilateral meeting comes at a critical time for the special relationship.
The pair have had a bumpy start to the partnership, with Mr Johnson being closely allied with Donald Trump and his successor making his objection to Brexit well known.
The highly unusual step to issue Lord Frost with a formal reprimand by America’s most senior diplomat in Britain suggests Mr Biden’s reservations remain and his pro-EU leanings linger. But No 10 insists that Mr Biden agrees with the fundamental points – that trade within the UK should be unfettered, and that pragmatic negotiations must ensure that peace is protected.
Both men are keen for a reset on topics they do agree on, such as climate change and rules-based global order – so who should Biden back? Have your say in the poll below.
09:45 AM
What Britain is doing to protect world leaders at the G7 summit
A ring of steel has been thrown around Cornwall for the G7 summit, with the Royal Navy watching for threats from the air, including drones, as 11,000 police officers and 150 sniffer dogs attempt to protect world leaders.
With the three-day G7 Leaders’ Summit in Carbis Bay starting on Friday, Devon and Cornwall Police have called in wide-ranging support from the MoD.
Naval vessels, aircraft, sniffer dogs, logistics support facilities and bomb disposal teams will all be on standby for the event.
The Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose and RAF St Mawgan will host assets thought to include US President Biden’s personal helicopter known by the callsign Marine One.
Air defence capabilities to protect against airborne threats including drones will be provided by the Royal Artillery’s Giraffe radar working with a Royal Navy Type-23 frigate, HMS Northumberland, and HMS Tyne, an Offshore Patrol Vessel positioned off the coast.
09:31 AM
Nile Gardiner: Joe Biden should should keep his sneering anti-British views to himself
The revelation that the Biden administration issued a “demarche” or diplomatic dressing down to the British government last week over its handling of the Northern Ireland border should cause outrage in Britain, writes Nile Gardiner.
This is the kind of treatment that is normally dished out to enemies of the United States, such as Russia, and hardly ever issued against a close ally.
In many respects, this is Joe Biden’s “back of the queue” moment. Barack Obama’s now infamous anti-Brexit intervention didn’t go down well back in 2016, and threats like this will always backfire with the British people, who don’t appreciate being lectured to by US presidents, not least one who displays his anti-British sentiments on his sleeve.
Unlike Obama, however, Biden didn’t act at the prodding of Downing Street. Biden’s Northern Ireland warning was a political cruise missile strike aimed directly at Boris Johnson and his Conservative government, with the intention of forcing a change in British policy.
Read the rest of Nile’s column here.
09:28 AM
Planet Normal: Lockdowns are ‘biggest public health mistake in history’, says top scientist
Lockdowns will be seen as the “single biggest public health mistake” in history, a Stanford University professor has warned.
Jay Bhattacharya, a professor of medicine, told The Telegraph’s Planet Normal podcast, that there have been “enormous collateral consequences” of keeping people inside and isolating them from their loved-ones during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I do think that future historians will look back on this and say this was the single biggest public health mistake, possibly of all history, in terms of the scope of the harm that it’s caused,” said Prof Bhattacharya.
“Every single poor person on the face of the earth has faced some harm, sometimes catastrophic harm, from this lockdown policy.”
Listen to the interview in full below.
09:23 AM
‘Sausages are a threat to peace’, mocks DUP MP
We will be leaving the Matt Hancock session for now – my colleagues will be covering the rest of his appearance here.
The more pressing issue facing the Prime Minister today is, of course, the so-called sausage wars, and the DUP ‘s Sammy Wilson is making his stance clear.
“The farcical Protocol needs to go and go now,” he says.
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09:12 AM
Boris Johnson was ‘absolutely four-square behind me’ on test target, says Matt Hancock
Matt Hancock has hit out at Dominic Cummings’s claim that his 100,000 test target was “criminal”, saying Boris Johnson was “four-square behind me”.
The Health Secretary said it “was my target”, telling MPs: “We didn’t know whether we were going to hit it. Sometimes you have to … put yourself on the line.
“We needed a radical increase. Incremental target would not do, so I set the target… the purpose of the target was to galvanise the system, and it worked.”
He said he did not know that there were “others who were not as supportive I had had hoped.. . I was a bit surprised by the testimony that he didn’t think we should have had a target.
“The Prime Minister was absolutely four-square behind me and gave me his full, whole-hearted support in hitting the target.”
09:06 AM
Matt Hancock rejects Cummings’s claim that he hid behind scientists
Matt Hancock has rejected Dominic Cummings’s claims that he was hiding under the mantra of “following the science”.
The Health Secretary says: “My approach throughout has been to say we are guided by the science – I try not to say we follow the science. There are examples where ministers make decisions that are different to the science.”
On the lockdown “we did accept and implement the scientific advice… but I take full responsibility of the decisions, in my name as Secretary of State… and I know the Prime Minister feels very strongly the same.
“But of course you are guided by the science.”
08:57 AM
Matt Hancock: I have no idea why Dominic Cummings attacked me
Matt Hancock has said it is “telling that no evidence has been provided yet” to back up the claims made by Dominic Cummings last month.
The Health Secretary said his approach throughout the pandemic has been “to protect lives and get the country out of the pandemic.. with honesty, integrity and critically, answering questions to the public and privately with honesty”.
He added that he was sometimes “direct” with Boris Johnson, adding: “Yes, I can be quite forceful when I am trying to get something done, but that is what you have do and crucially you have to bring that team with you.”
Asked why Mr Cummings had singled him out, Mr Hancock told Greg Clark “I have no idea”, but he was aware of the former aide’s attempts to have him sacked “because he briefed the newspapers at the time”.
Mr Hancock noted the Government “has operated better in the past six months” since the controversial aide left Downing Street.
08:52 AM
Matt Hancock defends himself over Cummings’s care home claims
The Government’s policy was to test people who were being discharged from hospital into care homes “when tests were available”, Matt Hancock has said.
The Health Secretary tells MPs “the challenge was not just that we didn’t have testing capacity, but that the clinical advice was that a test… could easily give a false negative.”
There was also a concern that people could catch Covid in hospitals. Clinical advice was followed throughout.
“The evidence has shown that the strongest route of the virus into care homes was unfortunately community transmission, so staff testing was the most important thing for keeping people safe in care homes,” he adds.
In relation to claims made by Dominic Cummings, that he had lied to the Prime Minister about care home testing, Mr Hancock says: “I made commitments and then I go on and deliver them”.
08:45 AM
You can’t point fingers in a pandemic: Matt Hancock hits out at Dominic Cummings
Rishi Sunak “played his part in resolving those blockages” to procure PPE and “Sir Simon Stevens has worked incredibly hard”, Matt Hancock has said.
The Health Secretary strikes a very different tone to Dominic Cummings, as he highlights the “team effort” approach.
“You can’t respond to a pandemic by pointing fingers,” he says. “You have to respond to a pandemic by bringing people together, trying to provide that leadership, by having a positive attitude to team work.
“That is the only way through it.”
08:41 AM
Matt Hancock flatly denies Dominic Cummings’s claims
Greg Clark, chair of the science committee, opens the four-hour sessions with the Health Secretary stressing that Dominic Cumming’s claims “are not the committee’s” and that the former aide has not provided evidence to back his claims up.
Asked about the most damning of his allegations, Matt Hancock tells Mr Clark that he never said anything to the Prime Minister that he knew not to be true.
On the question of treatment, he says “there was no point at which I was advised that people were not getting the treatment they needed”, and says that whole point had been to “protect the NHS so that people got the treatment they needed”.
Asked if he ever blamed Sir Simon Stevens or Rishi Sunak for PPE shortages, he says “that is not a fair recollection of the situation”, noting that while there had been “huge challenges” at the start of the pandemic.
08:29 AM
Watch live: Matt Hancock faces four-hour grilling over pandemic handling
Matt Hancock will be looking to set the record straight during the four-hour session before MPs today.
The Health Secretary is appearing before the same two committees who heard from Dominic Cummings last month – and will be looking to push back against some of the former aide’s damning allegations.
Watch the video below:
08:26 AM
EU expressing ‘more and more worries’ over Northern Ireland protocol, says Charles Michel
Member states in Europe are “expressing more and more worries” about the Northern Ireland protocol and so-called sausage war, Charles Michel has said.
The European Council boss said it was of “fundamental” importance to the EU, adding: “It’s paramount to implement what we have decided this is a question of rule of law, which is an important value that we share in common.
“The Good Friday Agreement is of course a priority,” he said ahead of the G7 summit. “We want to make sure that this Good Friday Agreement will be fully implemented, and it is very important for European Union to implement what you’ve decided to be a loyal partner,
“But at the same time, we will use all the tools we have in order to make sure that we defend our interests that we protect the integrity of the single market and that we guarantee the level playing field,”
08:13 AM
Protocol ‘one and only’ way to avoid hard border on Ireland, says von der Leyen
Ursula von der Leyen will tell Boris Johnson that the Northern Ireland protocol is the “one and only solution” to preventing a hard border on the island of Ireland at this week’s G7 summit.
Ahead of the gathering the European Commission president said she still saw “fundamental gaps” in the UK’s implementation of the protocol, and warned against any unilateral action on extending grace periods, which minsters are understood to be considering.
“We will discuss that in a trilateral meeting in Cornwall together,” she said. “We are determined to do everything to keep peace and stability on the island of Ireland. It is important that there is deep respect for the protocol.”
She noted that both sides had signed up to a dispute settlement mechanism, with potential for remedial measures that can be taken, but did not specify what action the EU would take if Britain failed to respect the protocol
08:09 AM
Vaccine patent waiver ‘no silver bullet’, says Charles Michel
A proposed waiver of intellectual property rights for Covid-19 vaccines and treatments is “no silver bullet”, European Council president Charles Michel has said, ahead of the G7 summit.
“The question of intellectual property rights will likely be raised,” Mr Michel told a news conference.
“The patent waiver might sound good, but it’s no silver bullet. The TRIPS agreement already offers flexibility and we want to focus on concrete proposals, such as promoting voluntary licences and knowledge transfers and patent-pooling on mutually agreed terms,” he added.
The Eurocrat also pledged to support the US by standing up to aggressive actions by China and Russia.
“We will defend ourselves against practices that pose security risks,” Mr Michel said. “We will continue to stand up to defend human rights and the rule of law in Xinjiang, Hong Kong and elsewhere,
07:57 AM
‘Absolutely outrageous’: DUP leader hits out over Joe Biden’s EU backing
It would be “absolutely outrageous” for Joe Biden to side with the EU over the Northern Ireland protocol, Edwin Poots has said.
The DUP leader told Radio 4’s Today programme: “America may be ignoring problems, may be prepared to drive a coach and horses through the Good Friday Agreement
“How are they upholding it by creating a border between Northern Ireland and Great Britain? East-West relationship is a key strand of the Good Friday Agreement,” he added.
“This is effectively a constitutional change… would President Biden allow Alaska… to take laws from Canada?
“I don’t think so, and I don’t think he should ask to impose those things on the United Kingdom that he wouldn’t accept for the United States of America.”
07:52 AM
EU ‘damaging peace process’ with food checks, claims DUP leader
The European Union is “hurting the people of Northern Ireland” and “damaging the peace process” with its insistence on food checks, Edwin Poots has said.
The checks, which are set out in the protocol, are “not applicable and not appropriate” because Northern Ireland is not in the EU, he stressed.
“Over 50 per cent of our trade is with Great Britain… the impact that is being had on Northern Ireland is absolutely devastating. European Union is hurting the people of NI, they are damaging the people with the lowest incomes.
They really need to reconsider their position, and stop hurting people in Northern. They are damaging the peace process, they have taken little account of the East-West relationship, which is a particular strand of the Good Friday Agreement, which needs to be honoured and respected just as the North-South element is.”
07:47 AM
DUP leader attacks ‘obscene’ checks on food from Britain to Northern Ireland
Edwin Poots has called on the EU to show “actions not words” over the Northern Ireland protocol, saying it is “the lowest paid who are being threatened as a result of this – the people with the least disposable income anywhere in the UK – by Ursula von der Leyen”.
The DUP leader said “her actions do not match her words”, as he called on the EU to help protect the people in Northern Ireland from the expense caused by the “15,000 checks” that will begin once the grace period ends this month.
He said it was “obscene” and “unreal” of the EU to impose checks on food travelling from Britain to Northern Ireland.
07:37 AM
Oxford boycott ‘ridiculous’, says universities minister
A boycott at Oxford University over the statue of Cecil Rhodes is “a ridiculous threat”, the universities minister has said.
More than 150 Oxford dons refusing to teach at Oriel College, in protest at its decision to keep the Cecil Rhodes statue, The Telegraph has revealed this morning.
But Michelle Donelan said she stood by the college’s decision “to keep the statue and explain the context”, and attacked the boycott instead.
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07:29 AM
What’s on the menu at the G7?
Leaders will feast on Cornwall’s finest food and soak up some of the county’s culture during the G7 summit.
At a lavish dinner at the Eden Project on Friday night they will be served fish caught off the Cornish coast and cooked by Emily Scott, chef at the Watergate Bay hotel near Newquay.
Here’s the menu:
– Starter: spiced melon, gazpacho, coconut, high note herbs.
– Main: Turbot roasted on the bone with Cornish new potatoes and wild garlic pesto with greens from the local Padstow kitchen gardens.
– Cornish cheese course: Gouda, Cornish yarg, helford blue.
– Dessert: English strawberry pavlova.
– Petit fours: clotted cream fudge, mini clotted cream ice cream cone with chocolate earl grey truffles.
Saturday night’s dinner will be a less formal affair, with the leaders tucking into a barbecue on the beach in Carbis Bay.
Drinks include Cornish sparkling wine, German Riesling, Australian Shiraz, Cornish beer and a hedgerow fizz cocktail.
07:23 AM
G7 will be opportunity to ‘put Covid behind us’, says Boris Johnson
The G7 must be an opportunity to “put [Covid] behind us”, Boris Johnson has said ahead of the two-day summit in Cornwall.
“This is the first visit by President Biden to the European continent after five months in office. It is the first time that the leaders of the world’s richest and most powerful democracies have had the chance to meet in person since the pandemic began 18 months ago — and it could not come at a better time,” the Prime Minister said.
“The world needs this meeting. We must be honest: international order and solidarity were badly shaken by Covid. Nations were reduced to beggar my neighbour tactics in the desperate search for PPE, for drugs — and, finally, for vaccines.”
“We will begin the framing of a new global treaty on pandemic preparedness so the world is never caught out in the same way again.”
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07:15 AM
Care home crisis should not be ‘laid at door of Matt Hancock’, says minister
Matt Hancock is facing a four-hour grilling by the same group of MPs who heard from Dominic Cummings, as the Health Secretary looks to clear his name.
Mr Cummings made a series of damning allegations about the Government’s handling of the pandemic during his seven-hour session, but focused much of his ire at Mr Hancock, who he accused of having lied repeatedly, including about the ‘protective ring’ around care homes.
So far, the former chief aide to the Prime Minister is yet to have provided any evidence to back up his claims.
This morning, Greg Hands, the trade minister, told Sky News that while the “situation in care homes was an absolute tragedy,” the nature of the problems will be “examined as part of the public inquiry” next year.
“All these questions need to be answered, but I don’t think it should be laid at the door of Matt Hancock,” he added. “A lot of difficult decisions had to be made last March/April.”
07:10 AM
UK and EU set for ‘unfortunate’ trade war, says former top Brexit official
The UK is on course to enter a trade war with the EU at the end of this month, the former Brexit permanent secretary has said.
Asked whether he thought the current tensions could erupt into a full-blown trade war, Sir Philip Rycroft, who was the most senior official at DexEU under Theresa May, told LBC: “I fear that looks the case.
“The end of the month is another crunch point as we come to the end of another grace period for chilled meats, so both sides are going to have to work pretty hard to avoid that,” he added. “It would be an unfortunate evolution in our relationship.”
Sir Phillip said suggestions that the UK would “step aside” from its obligations to Northern Ireland was not “helpful”.
07:05 AM
UK submits ‘very serious proposals’ to end sausage wars with EU
The UK has “submitted some very serious proposals” to break the deadlock over the sausage wars, a trade minister has sad.
Greg Hands told Sky News that for talks to make any progress there needed to be “a more pragmatic approach from the European Union in terms of how it interprets the Protocol”.
He added: “We have submitted some very serious proposals to Brussels about how to improve the situation. Talks are ongoing. They didn’t get a breakthrough yesterday but nor have they broken down.
“We need to find something that works well for everybody. The EU is following a very officious interpretation of a lot of these rules. We are looking for a more pragmatic approach.”
But he repeatedly failed to rule out unilaterally extending the grace period for chilled meats, which ends this month, which is likely to trigger some retaliatory measures from the EU.
07:02 AM
Working group launched to restart UK-US travel
The UK and US are setting up a working group to look at how transatlantic travel can reopen following the pandemic, a trade minister has said.
Greg Hands said it was one of the agreements Boris Johnson and Joe Biden will be launching during the US president’s attendance at the G7 summit in Cornwall.
“We are launching a working group together. We will be looking at how we can reopen transatlantic travel between the US and the UK,” Mr Hands told Sky News.
“We are looking at that as a matter of priority. It is very important that we get that transatlantic relationship reset up in terms of travel between the two countries.”
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06:53 AM
Biden fears Britain is ‘inflaming’ tension in Ireland and EU
Joe Biden ordered US officials to rebuke Boris Johnson for jeopardising the peace process in Northern Ireland due to its stand-off with the European Union, it emerged on Wednesday night.
In a significant diplomatic intervention which now threatens to overshadow the G7 summit in Cornwall, America’s most senior diplomat in Britain told the Brexit minister Lord Frost that the UK’s stance on the Northern Ireland Protocol was “inflaming” tensions in Ireland and Europe.
Yael Lempert is said to have issued Lord Frost with a demarche – a formal diplomatic reprimand – at a meeting on June 3 in London, during which she relayed to him the US President’s “great concern” over the UK’s approach to the protocol, which was established to prevent a hard Irish border.
A demarche is an official communication or protest to a foreign government that is more commonly lodged with adversaries than a close ally.
The details emerged after Mr Biden’s national security adviser warned ahead of his bilateral meeting with Mr Johnson on Thursday that resolving problems with the protocol was “critical” to protecting the Good Friday Agreement and not imperilling the peace process in the province.