UK and EU seeking pragmatic solution to NI, but little common groundpublished at 16:01 British Summer Time 12 June 2021

16:01 BST 12 June 2021

Vicki Young
Deputy Political Editor

Image source, PA Media

The deadlock between PM Boris Johnson and EU leaders over Northern Ireland won't get solved during the G7 summit, but it has dominated meetings between the two parties in Carbis Bay.

Johnson talks about protecting the territorial integrity of the UK - but he was warned very strongly ahead of Brexit that the agreement would effectively split off Northern Ireland, in a regulatory sense, from the UK. It's the reason the Democratic Unionist Party refused to back the agreement.

Under the current terms, Northern Ireland is still bound by a lot of EU rules: so the question is, what will the PM do next?

Is he now suggesting that the UK would be willing to suspend the whole thing - and not go along with what was signed before?

The UK's decision to unilaterally extend the grace period where checks would be waived has already inflamed tensions between the UK and the EU bloc - with the EU launching legal action against the UK earlier this year.

So how do leaders find a way through this?

President Macron has talked about resetting the relationship between the French and the UK - but has stressed it depends on the UK keeping its word over Brexit.

Boris Johnson would say it's about how the deal is being implemented - not about the deal itself, but how it is put into practice,

Both parties talk about pragmatic solutions to all of this - the trouble is, they don't agree on what they are.

Johnny O'Shea
BBC News Online

A wide range of causes have representatives protesting in Falmouth today, creating a colourful spectacle.

Climate protestors make up the vast majority, with an Extinction Rebeliion march going through the town beating drums, and staging a number of organised stunts.

There are several hundred people waving red and yellow flags, enthusiastically chanting against the humanitarian crisis in the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray.

This morning there was a huge "paddle-out" at Gullyngvase Beach, organised by Surfers Against Sewage.

Behind the beach was a van handing out free ice-creams, stressing the need to vaccinate the whole world against Covid-19.

Other groups I’ve seen include the Melons Against War group fighting the arms trade, anti badger cull protesters, and a group appealing for a free Kashmir.

You can read more about the protests here.

Image source, Reuters

US President Joe Biden has sat down for a one-on-one with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the summit.

Asked at the meeting if "America is back" under Biden, the French president says: "Yes definitely."

"It’s great to have a US president who’s part of the club and very willing to co-operate," Macron adds, according to Reuters news agency. "What you demonstrate is that leadership is partnership."

And this is from Bloomberg News reporter Jennifer Jacobs...

This evening the leaders of the G7 and their partners are invited to a barbecue on the beach in Carbis Bay, with local mackerel, crab and lobster on the menu - plus the chance to toast marshmallows around fire pits.

Chef Simon Stallard, from the Hidden Hut in Portscatho, will treat the visitors to a range of seafood canapes, followed by seared sirloin steak and lobster served with local veg and - to finish - a Beach Hut Sundae.

Cornish sparkling wine, local beer and a hedgerow fizz cocktail are among the refreshments on offer.

And if the guests are still peckish, there will be a gooey flourish of baked brie, hot buttered rum and those toasted marshmallows to round off the informal formalities.

Entertainment will include a flypast by the Red Arrows and sea shanties from Du Hag Owr.

And not a raindrop is forecast...

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Radio Cornwall

Image source, PA Media

The organiser of a paddle-out protest says world leaders need to put ocean recovery "at the heart" of their climate change discussions.

Earlier today, people took to the water on paddleboards, surf boards and kayaks, to protest against climate change in Falmouth.

Surfers Against Sewage organised the paddle-out which saw more than 500 people take to the water off Gyllyngvase beach.

CEO of the charity, Hugo Tagholm tells BBC Radio Cornwall: "World leaders are talking about climate change, they’re saying the right things, they’re making the right sounds, but this is the decade for action.

"We need to see fast action, we need to see more ambition around delivering that action and it needs to start today."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Joe Biden have sat down for a one-on-one meeting, the first time the pair have spoken face-to-face since his election as president late last year.

These meetings - known as bilaterals - take place on the sidelines of the summit and give the leaders a chance to discuss their two countries' relationships.

Also in the meeting were Merkel's foreign policy adviser Jan Hecker (sitting between Merkel and Biden) and US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan (on the left).

Image source, EPA

Preparations for future pandemics are high on today's G7 summit agenda and World Health Organization (WHO) special envoy on Covid-19, Dr David Nabarro, has called on G7 leaders to take responsibility - “beyond positioning” - and form a worldwide coronavirus response programme.

He told BBC World News yesterday the issue needs to be dealt with as a global challenge, with adequate finance, vaccines, diagnostics, treatment and political support.

“The rich world, indeed the whole world, can only recover if the pandemic is dealt with everywhere,” he says.

It comes after Boris Johnson announced the UK would donate more than 100 million surplus vaccines to poorer countries in the next year.

US President Joe Biden has promised half a billion Pfizer vaccines.

Despite the influx of people to Cornwall for the G7 summit, some businesses in St Ives and Falmouth say it has meant a loss in trade.

Mark Martin, from the Cutty Sark pub opposite the International Media Centre in Falmouth, says the summit has "stolen a week of the holiday season".

Others hope "it will bring good things to Cornwall" and put the area on the map.

Image source, PA Media

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has touched down in Cornwall to join discussions with the G7.

He's expected to urge G7 leaders to do more to tackle the unfair distribution of Covid-19 vaccines around the world.

Guterres used a press conference yesterday to welcome the G7 promise of one billion doses over the next year. But he says more is needed, especially for richer countries to waive intellectual property rules to share technical information about how to make vaccines.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

During his interview with the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg at the G7, the prime minister is asked whether he regrets allowing tens of thousands of people to travel between the UK and India as the Delta variant took hold in April.

In response, Boris Johnson says: "Don't forget we put India on the red list [of countries with toughest travel restrictions]."

Challenged about whether this was done too late, he says it was done "before the variant had even been identified as a variant under investigation let alone identified as a variant of concern".

• Why was India not put on the red list sooner?

Delta, first identified in India, is now the dominant coronavirus variant in the UK, making up nine in ten cases.

Read more here.

Image source, Sputnik via Reuters

Ahead of their post-G7 meeting on Wednesday, Russia's Vladimir Putin has been offering his views on Joe Biden - saying he hopes he will be less impulsive than his predecessor.

After the summit, President Biden will meet the Queen at Windsor Castle before flying to Brussels for talks, and then meet President Putin for the first time since he became US leader.

In an interview ahead of their meeting in Geneva, Putin praises former President Donald Trump but says he expects fewer "impulse-based" decisions from Biden.

He describes the current US leader as a "career man" who had "spent his entire adulthood in politics".

• Read more: Putin: Biden will be less impulsive than Trump

Thousands of Extinction Rebellion campaigners have marched through Falmouth in the latest protest by the group at the G7 summit.

The group says it is there to highlight the threat to seas and wildlife unless more decisive action is taken to combat climate change.

Caricatures of world leaders stood on the street as the flag-waving campaigners passed by with chants of "G7 drowning in promises" and "Action not words".

It follows another protest in St Ives on the first day of the summit.

Boris Johnson says the vaccination programme has done a "huge amount of good" but warns "you've got to be cautious to deliver an irreversible roadmap".

Watch what he's got to say on the likelihood of England's lockdown ending on 21 June here:

Boris Johnson says the government must "be cautious" as it decides whether to end all Covid restrictions in England on 21 June.

Speaking to BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg from the G7, he says it's important that any easing of restrictions is "irreversible".

It comes amid rising cases and concerns about the Delta variant.

"We're looking at the data today," he says. "Again, you've got hospitalisations up, you've got cases up. There are grounds for caution."

The final decision on whether the rules will change will be made on Monday.

Read the full story here.

Tensions over the post-Brexit agreement for Northern Ireland were a key topic in today's meetings in Cornwall.

The heads of the European Commission and the European Council said the EU was united in demanding that the UK should implement the entire agreement - known as the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The dispute centres on checks on goods and livestock that are meant to take place between the British mainland and Northern Ireland.

The so-called customs border in the Irish Sea was agreed so that the border on the island of Ireland could be kept open, fulfilling the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, which ended decades of bloody conflict in Northern Ireland.

But the Northern Ireland Protocol has strained that agreement and now risks causing a trade war between the UK and EU.

But UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson told BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg there was a "lot of misunderstanding" around the EU over the issue.

Image source, PA Media

We've just learned that the G7 leaders have agreed a spending plan for infrastructure investment in developing countries to counter China's growing global influence.

The White House said the Build Back Better World plan was adopted after President Joe Biden and the other leaders met to discuss their strategic competition with China, during the summit in Cornwall.

Beijing has invested billions of dollars around the world in its Belt-and-Road initiative. Critics say the programme has saddled poorer nations with debts they can't pay back.

The US and its allies also accuse China of forced labour and other human rights abuses in Xinjiang province.

Image source, Reuters

Here's what's been happening at the G7 summit in Carbis Bay so far today.

• Boris Johnson has called for "compromise on all sides" over post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland - while insisting that protecting the Good Friday Agreement remains paramount
• Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, tweeted that "both sides must implement what we agreed on", following a meeting with Mr Johnson. President Macron has urged the PM to respect the deal
• The main business on Saturday will be the Carbis Bay Declaration - a commitment by G7 leaders to combine their resources to halt any repeat of the Covid pandemic.
• US President Joe Biden is to urge Western countries to counter China's growing influence, an aide has told the BBC.
• Meanwhile campaigners have taken to the sand and sea in Cornwall, calling on the G7 to recognise the climate emergency - and urging the leaders to commit to cutting emissions.

BBC Radio Cornwall

A fisherman who caught fish eaten by members of the Royal family and the G7 world leaders says it was "exciting" to be involved.

Matthew Stevens from St Ives caught fish for the dinner at the Eden Project on Friday evening, for meals at Carbis Bay and the scheduled barbecue this evening.

"Cornwall's a great spot and we're showing off Cornwall at its best - it's just so exciting really."

Matthew says he had taken "extra care" when selecting the fish for the Queen.

They have been providing lobster and fresh Cornish mackerel "caught in the bay" he tells the BBC.

"We've had eight months of almost shutdown and we need it here down in Cornwall."

The St Ives fisherman says people in the area have been frustrated at the disruption caused by the summit, but hopes it will "leave in legacy" in the county.

Johnny O'Shea
BBC News Online

Campaigners who took to the water in a climate change protest say they never expected such a large turnout.

Organised by Surfers Against Sewage, the protest was for world leaders to recognise there is an ocean and climate emergency.

The protesters gathered at Gyllyngvase beach in Falmouth at midday.

Orion Page from Falmouth took part, with the message “save our seas” on the side of his board.

The 23-year-old said: “The sea is a massive part of my life and I want to allow people in the future to enjoy it as much as I have, and not allow it to deteriorate”.

“I didn’t expect to see so many people - they said it was about 1,500 people but I think it could have been more", he added.

Fred Horn, 21 and Daisy Borne, 22 paddled out on their surfboards for the protest at Falmouth.

Fred told the BBC it was "nice to see people taking action".

"I feel so involved in the local community and wanted to give something back and make sure the environment stays this way.”

Image source, Reuters

Joe Biden is in Cornwall as part of his first foreign trip as US president. And it's a busy agenda for him.

From the G7 in England he will head to the Nato summit in Brussels, on Monday. Then on Wednesday he'll hold a high-stakes meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva.

We've just heard from a White House official that Biden will hold a solo news conference after the talks, saying this is the "appropriate format to clearly communicate with the free press the topics that were raised".

The official also says the talks are expected to be "candid and straightforward".

A short list of subjects includes arms control, climate change, Russian military involvement in Ukraine, Russia's cyber-hacking activities, including the 2020 SolarWinds attack on US government and private computer networks, and the attempted poisoning and jailing of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny.

Read more from our colleague Anthony Zurcher.