The preparations for the G7 summit are a waste of money. Surely these meetings can be done remotely?

From the environmental impact, to wasting the talents of spouses dragged around for three days – surely, asks Janet Street-Porter, there is a better way?

Boris Johnson, right, with his wife Carrie Johnson (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

With the G7 summit looming next week, there’s much speculation about the role of prime minister Boris Johnson’s new wife, Carrie Johnson. I’m sure she’s intelligent and especially concerned about environmental issues but I hope (on this occasion) she keeps her opinions to herself.

In fact, why are the spouses of the leaders of these powerful countries turning up at all? Can they not manage to be apart for three whole days?

In 2021, it does seem utterly superfluous. A waste of security – not to mention all the attendant costs such as accommodation, catering and travel. Am I the only person who wonders whether these events actually achieve anything that couldn’t be accomplished via a conference call?

Instead, the leaders are spending millions meeting to discuss saving the planet in a fragile beauty spot in west Cornwall, at a hotel that has already demolished trees and cleared land in front of the beach to create “meeting pods” – without applying for planning permission before starting construction. The Carbis Bay hotel applied for three-bedroom lodges on the same spot in 2018 and got turned down – now their retrospective “meeting pods” application is unlikely to be heard until after the conference ends. You couldn’t make it up.

As the hotel was chosen because it already contained every amenity, you might be surprised why these “pods” are so important. No wonder some of the locals are up in arms. June marks the start of the lucrative holiday season, after months of lockdown, and a huge area including the main road into St Ives will be shut down so that these leaders can feel secure. The Maritime Museum in Falmouth – a popular visitor attraction – is being closed and turned into a media centre. After years of criticism about these costly junkets, do people in government have cloth ears?

Which brings me to the role we expect Carrie to play. Traditionally, the spouses visit local attractions, eat in well regarded restaurants and visit crafts centres and museums. Carrie could take Jill Biden and the other wives to the tin mines where Poldark was filmed. They might visit the Eden Project and lunch at the excellent Porthminster Beach café. But why bother? Cornwall is fabulous, but it is overloaded with visitors to the extent that locals can’t afford to buy homes. And because of the travel restrictions, every B&B and holiday home is fully booked until the autumn term.

A true environmentalist might consider scrapping a non-essential visit to Cornwall to make room for someone who has waited a year for a holiday. And what about the emissions involved in ferrying these spouses around? Or are they going by eco-friendly electric scooters?

The waste generated by the nightly wining and dining will be considerable. I doubt they’ll be having an eco-picnic with disposable plates and cutlery on the beach.

Parts of the press are already obsessed with what the female spouses will be wearing, with images already circulating of high-end fashion retailers visiting Downing Street this week. Even if Carrie rents her entire wardrobe, it’s still depressing that she’s considered little more than a clothes horse for photocalls, albeit one sending out the right messages about recycling.

What role do we expect spouses to play? Carrie had a career as a political PR, so do we want her to sit next to the president of the United States and eavesdrop on our behalf? Sarah Brown, formerly a successful PR, was said to be very skilled at managing these encounters – but surely that role was a waste of her considerable talents.

The truth is, we still regard female spouses of our leaders like 1950s housewives, when most are highly-educated and successful in their own right. Jill Biden is well known to place huge importance on continuing her career as a teacher while her husband is in office, but will she be granted the time and space to do that? She’s already being dragged across the Atlantic to Carbis Bay and then on to Windsor Castle for the traditional meeting with the Queen.

I wish Carrie happiness in her marriage, but – from a feminist perspective – matters didn’t start well when the couple chose a Catholic ceremony in a cathedral. The prime minister was baptised a Catholic but has lived his life as an Anglican, been married and divorced twice, not to mention siring children outside wedlock.

We’re told Catholic bigwigs allowed this marriage to take place in church because they considered the previous Anglican unions “invalid”. That sends a terrible message to Johnson's previous (long-suffering wives), not to mention his children, who must be considered illegitimate in the eyes of the Pope. It also shows contempt for the thousands of ordinary divorced couples- who are refused a church wedding if they can’t get an annulment. And what about gay couples who are told “God cannot bless sin”?

To me, choosing a catholic wedding demonstrates a lack of empathy for a predominately Anglican country, many of whose citizens are in same-sex relationships.

If Carrie wants to show she is a truly modern woman, she’ll give Carbis Bay a miss, and write a letter to the Pope urging him to recognise same-sex marriage and let other couples enjoy the same privileges as herself.

Meanwhile, perhaps the G7 press office could send everyone invited to attend a link to download Poldark, a Leach pottery mug and a seed packet from the Eden project, along with a message begging them to stay at home.

After all, we’ve all been told (by Boris) not to travel unless it’s “essential” or “for work”.