Image source, Getty Images

In the run up to this weekend's G7 summit, lots of work has already been done in smaller groups, with finance, health and foreign ministers all holding separate meetings.

G7 health ministers met in Oxford and virtually last week and agreed 41 action points - and you won't be surprised to hear that fair access to vaccines was among them.

They vowed to crack down on misinformation about jabs and praised the continuing efforts of health and care workers around the world.

Finance ministers last met in London last week and agreed to make multinational companies pay more tax in the countries where they do business.

And Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab hosted his G7 counterparts last month where they restated their commitment to defend international rules in the face of global threats, and the importance of "free and fair trade".

Image source, Getty Images

What now for the ‘special relationship’?published at 14:53 British Summer Time 10 June 2021

14:53 BST 10 June 2021

Jon Sopel
BBC North America Editor

Boris Johnson and Joe Biden will meet near the cliff tops overlooking the magnificent Carbis Bay in Cornwall, the waves from the Atlantic crashing below.

It won't have the bodice-ripping tension and tempestuousness of an encounter between Ross Poldark and Demelza - until now the most famous pairing from these parts thanks to the BBC hit drama - but this is an important relationship to watch as it develops.

The reasons why it might get off to a horrible start are all too easy to enumerate. Biden firmly supported Britain remaining in the EU; Johnson was the leading architect of Brexit.

Biden is perhaps the most "Irish" (I put it in inverted commas because a lot of Americans in public life like to play up their Irish roots - though Biden's are very clear) of recent US presidents, and the Good Friday Agreement is sacrosanct for him - and so he will make clear to his British host there can be no tinkering with the Northern Ireland protocol if it puts that long-fought-over agreement in jeopardy.

Read more from Jon here.

The Irish Taoiseach, Micheal Martin, says it is "significant" that President Biden is planning to raise Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland in his talks with the prime minister this afternoon.

Joe Biden has warned that the ongoing dispute with the EU over customs checks on goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland must not put the peace process at risk.

Martin says the President's intervention is basically a call to do the "sensible thing" and resolve trade issues with the EU.

He said it's a "clear message" to work out an agreement with the EU.

The town of St Ives and neighbouring village of Carbis Bay are in full view of the world this week.

The G7 summit is being held in the tranquil, and beautiful coastal communities less than 20 miles (32km) from Land's End in Cornwall.

Preparations have been ongoing since the shock announcement in January, and now the reality has arrived.

A black metal fence - a so-called ring-of-steel - which is about 10ft (3m) high and surrounds the village locking out all but the locals, the special guests, and lots of police.

Local residents have been telling the BBC what it’s like living in the global spotlight.

Image source, .

Image source, Reuters

Alongside the leaders’ meeting, the spouses have their own separate itinerary.

To kick things off, the White House has confirmed that US First Lady Jill Biden will meet the newly married Mrs Johnson this afternoon.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Mrs Johnson were married in private ceremony on 30 May which was not announced to the public until the next day.

As the president and the prime minister hold talks later, the two women will “meet separately over tea at Carbis Bay”.

We're wondering if there might be a congratulatory glass of bubbles too...?

Image source, PA Media

Michael Gove has insisted that Joe Biden and Boris Johnson are "on the same page" over the Northern Ireland protocol.

The protocol is the part of the UK-EU Brexit deal which governs trade in the province. To prevent the creation of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, it allows for some checks on goods going between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

• What is the Northern Ireland protocol?

This has caused anger in Northern Ireland, but Mr Biden is expected to tell Mr Johnson not to let the row affect the peace process.

During a visit to Northern Ireland, Mr Gove was asked about Mr Biden's intervention and the fact that the Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin has described it as "significant".

Mr Gove, a UK cabinet office minister, said: "The taoiseach, the president and the UK Prime Minister are all on the same page. We are all absolutely committed to protecting and upholding the Belfast Good Friday Agreement in all of its dimensions."

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been entertained by some of the pupils at St Issey CofE Primary School in the village of St Issey near Wadebridge.

Johnson was asked some tough questions by his hosts:

“How can we stop people using petrol cars?”

PM: That's a very good question William - this country is going to be one of the first countries in the world.... you know, that in just nine years, nine years time, you won't be allowed to buy a new petrol or diesel engine car - you know that?

How are you going stop fisherman getting too much fish?

PM: Well, the rules at the moment are there to protect the little fish, so that when the fishermen catch the fish - they have to throw, which is still capable of growing and having babies themselves, they have to throw them back. That's what the rules say, and the fishermen actually understand that they're pretty good at doing it.

If you have a BBQ on beach, you don't throw plastic in the seas?

PM: You don't! What do you do with it? Put it in the bin? What happens then?

Children: It gets recycled

PM: Well let's hope so. What if it gets sent to some other country? That would be bad. So to you need to reduce the amount.

My daddy can't buy electric cars because they're too expensive

PM: We need to get the price down, but one good thing about electric cars is they're much cheaper to run.

The seven members of the group of advanced economies are the US, Canada, Japan, Italy, France, Germany and the UK. They are joined by the representatives of the EU.

Russia used to be a member but was expelled from the group in 2014 after it annexed Crimea from the Ukraine.

Others have been invited to this year’s summit, including Australia, South Korea, South Africa and India.

Why does this summit matter?published at 13:48 British Summer Time 10 June 2021

13:48 BST 10 June 2021

Laura Kuenssberg
Political editor

Do summits like this matter? "Occasionally!" comes the answer from a former government insider who worked for years at the very top.

However acute any particular political emergency, however good the freebies for the thousands of attendees - can descend into 'waffelage'.

As the most powerful elected people in the world prepare to occupy a tiny Cornish bay for a few days, will this be an occasion that makes a difference to any of our lives or will it be waffle in the end?

A senior diplomat closely involved in the preparation is confident, "this will be very meaningful."

The government hopes for strong confirmation of the relationship between the UK and the US, commitments to help get vaccines to the developing world, and for progress on climate change.

They plan also for convincing conversations with the other nations that have been invited, what the prime minister is terming the "football team" - the "D 11" - the G7 plus India (attending virtually), South Korea, South Africa and Australia too, forging links ever more important among democracies in the face of growing influence from China.

But this summit will also matter for the glimpses of our leaders, and snapshots of the vital relationships they forge.

Read Laura's blog in full here.

Image source, Getty Images

The UK currently holds the presidency of the G7 (Group of Seven) leading world economies, so it is hosting the annual leaders' summit.

With climate change a major talking point for the summit, the UK chose Cornwall’s Carbis Bay, near St Ives, in an effort to show off its green credentials.

The government says the region is “already a powerhouse for green innovation”.

It added: “The whole of Cornwall will reap the benefits of hosting the G7.”

Read more here.

Image source, PA Media

Anyone who's been on holiday in Cornwall knows that the best laid plans can be ruined by the weather.

And it's no different for world leaders.

PM Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden were scheduled to meet at Saint Michael's Mount, a castle on a tidal island off the coast of Cornwall, for their bilateral talks ahead of the G7 summit.

But the trip, which was also to be enjoyed by their wives, Carrie Johnson and Jill Biden, has been called off because of the chance of rain.

The leaders will instead meet at Carbis Bay, the venue for the rest of the G7 summit.

We're just hearing that the face to face talks between the prime minister and President Biden will take place around 1500 BST.

It's the first time the two leaders have met since since Joe Biden took office.

The worldwide roll-out of the coronavirus vaccine and a new "Atlantic Charter" cementing the special relationship between the UK and the US will be discussed, alongside trying to kick start lucrative transatlantic travel that has been decimated by the pandemic.

Brexit looms like the Cornish cloudspublished at 13:20 British Summer Time 10 June 2021

13:20 BST 10 June 2021

Adam Fleming
Chief political correspondent

Brexit doesn’t appear anywhere on the agenda for this G7 summit.

But it hangs over Carbis Bay like the Cornish clouds.

This morning the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said there were gaps in the UK’s implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol - and the issue is bound to feature in the prime minister’s first face to face encounter with President Biden, after the White House said it was deeply concerned about the Good Friday Agreement.

Downing Street will hope it can redress the balance by explaining to the president the concerns of unionists about disruption to trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland as a result of the protocol.

And No 10 would rather focus on the main outcome of the meeting between the two leaders – which will be a new version of the Atlantic Charter signed by Winston Churchill and President Roosevelt in 1941 -- updated to reflect the modern world of trade, technology and security.

Image source, 10 Downing Street

Aside from Brexit, Johnson and Biden will work on efforts to resume transatlantic travel and agree a new "Atlantic Charter" aimed at refreshing the relationship between the UK and US.

The roll-out of the coronavirus vaccination programme and climate change are high on their agenda.

It is understood Johnson and Biden will agree on Thursday to launch a taskforce to make recommendations on safely resuming international travel.

But Biden's close interest in issues affecting Ireland will mean that the dispute over the Northern Ireland Brexit protocol will feature heavily in the diplomatic activity in Cornwall.

US President Joe Biden will later tell PM Boris Johnson not to let the row over post-Brexit trading in Northern Ireland affect the peace process.

The two leaders will have their first face-to-face talks in Cornwall on the eve of the G7 summit.

Mr Biden will stress the need to "stand behind" the Northern Ireland protocol.

Mr Johnson said on Wednesday that resolving the dispute with Brussels was "easily doable" and "what we want to do is make sure that we can have a solution that...protects the peace process, but also guarantees the economic and territorial integrity of the whole United Kingdom".

Read more here.

Image source, Getty Images

Welcome to our live coverage.

US President Joe Biden is to meet UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson this afternoon.

The two leaders are in Cornwall ahead of the G7 leaders’ summit on Friday.

The UK currently holds the G7 presidency, and Boris Johnson will host the weekend meeting in the seaside resort Carbis Bay.

We’ll bring you all the developments through the afternoon.

Image source, Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street