Downing Street has responded to criticism that the G7 barbecue on the beach on Saturday night in Cornwall did not comply with England's coronavirus measures

Fewer than 30 guests were at the event in Carbis Bay - in keeping with restrictions, the prime minister's spokesman says.

"The event last night was done in an entirely Covid-secure way within the existing rules," he insists.

The spokesman adds those attending the summit have followed a daily testing regime and the "relaxed gathering" was limited to the outdoors.

"You can see it was a relaxed atmosphere and gave the leaders a chance to discuss outside of a formal setting."

Johnny O'Shea
BBC News Online

There are about 800 members of the media covering the G7 summit.

In Falmouth there are two large marquees set up on Events Square.

One of those working in the International Media Centre is Chinatsu Baba, a reporter with Japanese news agency Jiji Press.

On her first visit to Cornwall, she says: “It is beautiful here, although it was very cold when I first arrived.

"This is my first business trip away since Covid started so it feels special.”

“For Japan, the big issue right now is the Olympics, and the summit will be seen as a failure if there is not support from the other leaders for the Olympics to go ahead."

Image source, Reuters

US President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr Jill Biden attended a church service in St Ives earlier today, ahead of business on the final day of the G7 summit.

The presidential convoy was seen parked in a narrow street of the Cornish town, next to Carbis Bay, where the event is being held.

Later today, the Bidens will have tea with the Queen at Windsor Castle.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Amid the G7 formalities, there has been swimming, barbecues and the Red Arrows over the course of the three-day gathering in Cornwall's Carbis Bay.

Here is a selection of some of the best images so far from the G7 summit, which sees leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US and UK come together in person for the first time since the pandemic.

Image source, Andrew Parsons/No 10

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown says the G7 summit "will go down as a missed opportunity" due to the lack of a plan to deliver 11 billion Covid-19 vaccine doses.

Speaking to Sky News' Trevor Phillips on Sunday programme, he also says the lack of vaccine distribution to poorer countries will "haunt the richest" nations because of the possibility of the emergence of new variants of the virus.

The Andrew Marr Show

Image source, Reuters

Dominic Raab insists there has been "a global gear shift" in vaccine delivery thanks to UK manoeuvres at the G7 summit in Cornwall - after leaders committed to deliver one billion doses to poorer nations by the end of 2022.

The foreign secretary says the G7 leaders "have come together to bridge the gap" in the global vaccine rollout.

"The difference those one billion doses will make... is to bring the point at which the world can be vaccinated forward," he says.

But the World Health Organization has said 11 billion vaccines are needed - and as soon as possible.

"Of course we want to go faster," acknowledges Raab, but he describes advancing the deadline by 18 months as "a massive step change".

Image source, Getty Images

G7 leaders are to adopt strict measures on coal-fired power stations as part of the battle against climate change, with a promise to move away from coal plants, unless they have technology to capture carbon emissions.

The announcement came from the White House, which says it is the first time the leaders of wealthy nations have committed to keeping the projected global temperature rise to 1.5C.

That requires a range of urgent policies, chief among them being phasing out coal burning.

Coal is the world's dirtiest major fuel and ending its use is seen as a major step by environmentalists, but they also want guarantees rich countries will deliver on previous promises to help poorer countries cope with climate change.

The G7 will end the funding of new coal generation in developing countries and offer up to £2bn ($2.8bn) for poorer nations to stop using the fuel.

Climate change has been one of the key themes at the G7 summit.

The group is also expected to set out global plans to reduce emissions from farming, transport, and the making of steel and cement. And they will commit to protecting 30% of global land and marine areas for nature by 2030.

The Andrew Marr Show

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab describes the attitude of various EU figures towards Northern Ireland, and its position as part of the UK, as "offensive" - adding the UK "wouldn't dream of" referring to Corsica or Catalonia in the same way.

He refuses to confirm suggestions that France's President Macron had suggested to Boris Johnson that Northern Ireland was not part of the UK at Saturday's beach barbecue in Cornwall.

Raab says there is "a failure to understand the facts" in the EU bloc and that it "causes damage and creates deep consternation" for communities in Northern Ireland.

Asked about finding a solution to the current spat over implementing the Northern Ireland protocol, Raab says "the ball is in the EU's court".

The foreign secretary says the EU needs to apply article six "to facilitate the free flow of trade" between Britain and Northern Ireland, calling the number of checks on the border "disproportionate".

He says the EU has taken a "lopsided approach... built on flawed assumptions".

Raab tells Andrew Marr on BBC One the UK will behave "flexibly and pragmatically" but will not put the territorial integrity of the UK at risk.

The Andrew Marr Show

As it hosts world leaders the UK government is crunching the numbers ahead of tomorrow's announcement on whether the full lifting of coronavirus restrictions in England should go ahead on 21 June as originally mapped out.

Speaking to the BBC's Andrew Marr, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said that was the earliest date the easing could happen, not a definite date.

Shadow trade secretary Emily Thornberry has told Andrew Marr the UK needs to "stop bickering" with EU leaders over implementing the Northern Ireland protocol "and find a practical solution".

She suggests a Swiss-style arrangement may be the "most realistic" way forward.

When Andrew Marr says that would mean "dynamic alignment with the EU" on food standards and might jeopardise future trade deals with the US and Australia, she questioned "in what way the government might want food standards to be worse in the UK than the rest of Europe".

Thornberry says President Biden has made it clear honouring the Good Friday Agreement is more important than trade deals between the US and UK.

Another bilateral meeting to tell you about, after several over the past couple of days. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has held talks this morning with the South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa.

In a series of tweets yesterday night,, external Ramaphosa urged the G7 to focus on efforts to help Africa fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

"If we are to save lives and end the pandemic, we need to expand and diversify manufacturing and get medical products to treat, combat and prevent the pandemic to as many people as quickly as possible," he says.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

China is warning the G7 leaders the days when a "small" group of countries decided the fate of the world are long gone.

The comments, by a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in London, come as the leaders seek a unified position over China.

"The days when global decisions were dictated by a small group of countries are long gone," the spokesman is quoted by Reuters news agency as saying.

"We always believe that countries, big or small, strong or weak, poor or rich, are equals, and that world affairs should be handled through consultation by all countries."

Analysts say US President Joe Biden is determined that Western powers need to act now to counter a resurgent China. The G7 announced yesterday a spending plan for developing countries in response to a massive Chinese scheme, the Belt and Road Initiative.

Our political correspondent Rob Watson, who is at the G7 summit in Cornwall, says President Biden is trying to frame the post-pandemic world as a struggle between democracies and autocracies.

But there appears to be no consensus yet among the G7 nations over whether China is a partner, a competitor or a security threat, our correspondent adds.

As we cover the political shows this morning, Labour's Lisa Nandy, the shadow foreign secretary, says the government has wasted the opportunity afforded by the G7 summit, which is being marred by the rows with the EU over Northern Ireland - dubbed "the sausage wars".

Asked about the continuing spat between the UK and EU leaders over the Northern Ireland protocol, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab tells Sky the PM has been "calm but firm" in meetings with his opposite numbers in the bloc.

He describes the EU's approach to the protocol as "lopsided" - suggesting the volume of checks in Northern Ireland is overly bureaucratic.

Raab says the UK is looking for "a more proportionate and flexible approach" - but stresses the UK cannot have "continuing disruption" or any change to the status of Northern Ireland's place within the union.

He suggests many foreign leaders do not seem to understand Northern Ireland is part of the UK.

"We need a bit of respect... and appreciation of the situation of communities in Northern Ireland," Raab tells Sky's Trevor Phillips.

Speaking later on the same programme, shadow trade secretary Emily Thornberry says she is not saying EU isn't being "petty", describing the number of checks on the border as "frankly ridiculous", but says the government just needs "to get on with it" and find a solution to the protocol issue.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has said the UK "has shifted the dial" on plans for world vaccination at the G7 summit in Cornwall, bringing plans to deliver vaccination around the globe forward by 18 months.

Raab says Boris Johnson has secured commitment from the seven nations to deliver a billion vaccine doses by the end of 2022, calling it "a massive step change".

He hails the event in Carbis Bay as the first net-zero G7 summit, and defends the decision to hold the three-day gathering - while rejecting suggestions the barbecue on Saturday evening ignored the government's Covid restrictions.

He tells Sky's Trevor Phillips: "You need leaders around the table... to stop fragmentation and see global cooperation".

Raab will also be speaking to the BBC's Andrew Marr after 09:00 - you can see that on BBC One or on our site.

The collapse of Denmark footballer Christian Eriksen during his team's Euro 2020 match with Finland - and the life-saving CPR performed on him on the pitch - dominates the front pages of many of Sunday’s papers.

There is also much discussion of the expected delay to the lifting of restrictions in England, originally planned for 21 June.

Government advisers are said to be concerned there is a very short window to open up during the summer, and by September it could be too late because the virus spreads more easily in the winter months.

Focusing on the G7 summit, the Observer, external reports the prime minister was embroiled in an extraordinary public spat with EU leaders over Northern Ireland as tensions boiled over in Cornwall.

The paper says Boris Johnson told the Europeans to "get it into their heads" that the UK was "a single country" after a series of tense meetings at which he was told to implement the Brexit deal in full.

The Telegraph, external says the prime minister was left infuriated when France's President, Emmanuel Macron, suggested Northern Ireland was not part of the UK.

The Sunday Times, external calls it a "barney on the beach".

So what is the Northern Ireland protocol – and why the row? Read more here.

Charley Adams
BBC News Online

Image source, Reuters

The second day of the G7 summit saw an array of protests, dominated by environmental messages.

It kicked off with a paddle-out protest declaring an ocean and climate emergency.

Organisers say about 1,000 people took to the water on paddleboards, kayaks and surfboards at Gyllyngvase beach in Falmouth at midday.

Campaigners say they never expected such a large turnout.

Thousands of Extinction Rebellion campaigners marched through Falmouth on Saturday in a bid to highlight the threat to seas and wildlife unless more decisive action is not taken to combat climate change.

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

In the evening, while world leaders enjoyed a barbecue on the beach, Ocean Rebellion projected slogans on to a ship housing hundreds of police officers drafted in for the summit.

Police were on scene in Falmouth Harbour at the protest involving a flotilla of boats.

Image source, Reuters

World leaders were also spotted sunbathing in another climate change protest at Swanpool Beach near Falmouth on Saturday.

Oxfam activists wearing papier mache heads were calling for the world leaders, currently in Cornwall, to commit to cutting emissions and to provide more financial help to vulnerable countries trying to respond to the impacts of climate change.

Image source, Reuters

We told you earlier about Sir David Attenborough’s address to the G7 leaders on Sunday, as they set out plans to tackle climate change.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is hosting the Cornwall summit, is also launching a £500m fund to protect the world's oceans and marine life.

The Blue Planet fund will help countries, including Ghana, Indonesia and Pacific island states, tackle unsustainable fishing, protect and restore coastal ecosystems such as mangroves and coral reefs, and reduce marine pollution.

Johnson says protecting the planet is "the most important thing we as leaders can do for our people".

"There is a direct relationship between reducing emissions, restoring nature, creating jobs and ensuring long-term economic growth," he says, on Saturday.

It followed a meeting with UN chief Antonio Guterres at the summit in which they discussed the need for "joined-up global action" on climate change and pandemic preparedness.

Image source, EPA

• The second day of the summit saw Boris Johnson in bilateral talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as well as EU chief Ursula von der Leyen – with the issue of implementing the Northern Ireland Protocol at the forefront of discussions
• According to Downing Street, the UK PM told EU leaders he wants "pragmatism and compromise on all sides" – but his foremost duty is to uphold the territorial integrity of the UK. EU leaders reiterated that they expected Johnson to respect the original terms of the Brexit agreement
• The G7 group focus on Saturday was the Carbis Bay Declaration - a commitment by the G7 to combine resources to halt any repeat of the Covid pandemic
• The seven leaders also agreed a spending plan for infrastructure investment in developing countries to counter China's growing global influence
• The afternoon saw Prime Minister Boris Johnson welcome leaders from Australia, South Korea and South Africa – with the Indian prime minister Narenda Modi joining remotely because of Covid restrictions – as part of the UK’s "global Britain" agenda
• Saturday concluded with a flypast by the Red Arrows and a barbecue on the beach, with toasted marshmallows, hot buttered rum and sea shanties among the diversions for the assembled world leaders.

Image source, Getty Images

Sir David Attenborough will tell leaders at the G7 summit in Cornwall today that they're facing the most important decisions in the history of mankind - as they try to tackle climate change.

The naturalist will address world leaders at a meeting on Sunday as they set out plans to cut carbon emissions and restore biodiversity.

Climate change is one of the key themes at the three-day summit in Carbis Bay.

Sir David will warn G7 leaders that humans may be "on the verge of destabilising the entire planet" - with the natural world already "greatly diminished".

The group of seven - the UK, US, Canada, Japan, France, Germany and Italy - are expected to pledge to almost halve their emissions by 2030, relative to 2010 levels.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will also use the summit to launch a £500m campaign aimed at protecting the world's marine life.

Saturday saw a number of protesters highlighting the climate change theme locally, including an Extinction Rebeliion march through Falmouth and a "paddle-out" at Gullyngvase Beach, organised by Surfers Against Sewage.

Read more.