Inside Politics: US hits UK with ‘formal diplomatic reprimand’

Americans said to have issued No 10 with formal warning not to ‘inflame’ tensions in Northern Ireland, writes Adam Forrest

(PA)

Let’s hope gaffe-prone Joe Biden has got the various memos ahead of his big meeting with Boris Johnson in Cornwall today. The prime minister doesn’t like the term “special relationship” anymore, for one thing. When it comes to Cornish cream teas, it’s jam on first, then the cream. And for goodness’ sake, Joe – don’t take down any pictures of the Queen. Some of us Brits get very upset about that. Diplomatic niceties aside, the US president has a clear and important message for the prime minister: don’t blow the peace in Northern Ireland.

Inside the bubble

Deputy political editor Rob Merrick on what to look out for today:

Joe Biden and Boris Johnson will hold face-to-face talks in Cornwall, where the vexed issue of the protocol will rear its head. Meanwhile, in London, health secretary Matt Hancock must answer Dominic Cummings’ allegations over the Covid response in evidence to the joint inquiry by the health and science committees.

Daily briefing

ON THE DEMARCHE: Joe Biden has “deep” concerns that the UK-EU trade dispute is putting peace in Northern Ireland at risk, his national security adviser has said. It looks like US president – who flew into RAF Mildenhall last night – will make that clear to Boris Johnson in no uncertain terms when they meet today. Yael Lempert, the most senior US diplomat in the UK, told Brexit minister David Frost that the British government was “inflaming” tensions in Ireland, according to The Times. The newspaper says it amounts to a “demarche” (a formal diplomatic reprimand). Biden and Johnson are expected to agree a new “Atlantic Charter” focusing on joint challenges like climate change today. And a new taskforce will look at ways to relaunch UK-US travel. Tourist chiefs welcomed the move, but they’re desperate for firm dates. Speaking of travel, PM was grilled on why he took a government jet from London to Cornwall. A smirking Johnson replied: “If you attack my arrival by plane, I respectfully point out the UK is actually in the lead in developing sustainable aviation fuel.”

EASY PEASY! Boris Johnson is too excited to get the post-Brexit blues. Mr Optimistic claimed a solution protecting both NI trade and the peace process was “easily doable”. The PM said he was “not worried” the protocol dispute would overshadow the G7 summit. But talks between his Brexit minister David Frost and EU counterpart Maros Sefcovic broke up without agreement on Wednesday. “Our patience really is wearing very, very thin, and therefore we have to assess all options we have at our disposal,” said Sefcovic. Brussels is ready to slap tariffs and quotas on UK exports, said Sefcovic. Frost was keen to talk up the EU’s stubborn intransigence over sausages. “We don’t see what risk is caused to Northern Ireland if chilled meats are imported there from GB.” But Sefcovic pointed out that the UK was not prepared to accept an offer to sign up to EU food standards. “Ideology prevails over what is good for the people of Northern Ireland,” he claimed.

MAPPING AND ZAPPING: Yet more evidence that we’re in the early stages of a third wave. More than a thousand people are in hospital with Covid and another 7,540 people tested positive – the highest daily figure since the end of February. Prof Neil Ferguson said it would take a few more weeks to find out how rising cases translate into hospitalisations. But Boris Johnson doesn’t have a few more weeks to make a decision on the 21 June reopening. The PM said ministers would “look at where we are” on the roadmap on Monday. Can we vaccinate quickly enough? NHS chief Sir Simon Stevens talked up a “Glastonbury-style” rush for jabs among young people. It comes as the Police Federation said officers feel a “deep sense of betrayal” that they weren’t prioritised for vaccination. Home secretary Priti Patel shrugged it off. Addressing the Police Federation conference, Patel told police it was time to start “zapping” criminals as Covid laws ease. Nobody seems to know what exactly she meant by “zapping”.

HANCOCK’S HIGH NOON: Big day for Matt Hancock. The health secretary will be grilled by MPs on the joint inquiry about Dominic Cummings’ recent accusations. He’ll need a convincing performance to restore his reputation. Almost half of voters (45 per cent) think Hancock should resign over his handling of the pandemic. A Savanta ComRes survey for The Independent found a quarter (28 per cent) of Tory supporters think he should lose his job. Did Hancock lie about testing in care homes? More than half (53 per cent) of voters believe Cummings’ central charge. Care home operators have not helped Hancock’s case. Several sector bosses told The Guardian they repeatedly warned Hancock’s department that failing to test people discharged from hospitals into care homes would be a disaster. MPs will also ask the minister about Cummings’ claim he interfered with test and trace to meet his own target, and the thorny business of herd immunity.

THEY FOUGHT THE (GOOD) LAW, THE (GOOD) LAW WON: Not for the first time, Boris Johnson’s government has been found to have acted unlawfully. The High Court ruled it unlawful to give a £560,000 contract to a firm run by former colleagues of Michael Gove and the PM’s ex-adviser Dominic Cummings. Gove denied any bias in awarding the contract to market research agency Public First. But the judge said the failure to consider other firms raised the “real danger” of “apparent bias”. After winning the case, Good Law Project director Jo Maugham said the verdict showed “this is not government for the public good”. Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner responded: “Not only were those at the heart of government giving out taxpayers’ money to their friends … they have wasted even more trying to cover it up.” Meanwhile, a FOI request has revealed the artwork chosen by Johnson for his refurbished flat. The PM now has work by Sir Peter Blake and cartoonist Nicholas Garland (who worked for The Telegraph and The Independent) on his freshly-wallpapered walls.

DON’T FENCE ME IN: Boris Johnson has weighed in on the “culture wars” battle over the removal of a portrait of the Queen from an Oxford students’ common room. The PM said he “supports” education secretary Gavin Williamson’s criticism of the decision (Williamson said it was “simply absurd”). Meanwhile, residents in Cornwall remain angry about the simply absurd levels of security for the G7. Community leaders in Carbis Bay and St Ives have called for the area to be given a “legacy fund” as a thank you for living with weeks of major disruption. Many remain angry that have been told to carry ID at all time while entire streets have been fenced off with military-grade fencing. Rumours are rife in Carbis Bay. One doing the rounds suggests surface-to-air missiles are to be installed somewhere behind the local cricket club. There’s a story that one chip shop has received an order for a thousand fish suppers on Friday night.

On the record

“There weren’t any breakthroughs, there weren’t any breakdowns either and we are going to carry on talking.”

David Frost on the protocol impasse.

From the Twitterati

“Nothing says ‘a greener future’ quite like taking a private jet from London to Cornwall.”

Technically Ron is amazed by Boris Johnson’ getting-off-the-plan photos…

“He flew to f****** Cornwall to talk about climate change.”

…and James Felton is appalled.

Essential reading

Kim Sengupta, The Independent: Joe Biden may yet force Boris Johnson’s hand over Northern Ireland

Thandiwe Newton, The Independent: This is what I would say to world leaders at the G7

Rafael Behr, The Guardian: Joe Biden’s G7 mission is to recruit allies for the next cold war

Katy Balls, The Spectator: Boris Johnson has a growing problem with Tory backbenchers

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