Jon Sopel and crew are kicked off their table by Joe and Jill Biden
WE’RE sitting there! BBC presenter Jon Sopel and his crew are kicked off their table at Cornwall hotel so that Joe and Jill Biden can enjoy a drink after meeting Boris and Carrie at G7 summit
- Editor Jon Sopel and producer Morgan Gisholt Minard lost seats to Bidens at Tregenna Castle Hotel in St Ives
- Footage shows Ms Minard clearing her belongings from the table as the Commander-in-chief hovers nearby
- Hotel staff swoop in to remove her food and drink as the US President’s entourage looms in the background
- Bidens wore sneakers and jeans for a drink outside hotel after meeting the PM and his wife Carrie yesterday
Two BBC journalists were booted off their dinner table last night to make way for President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill.
North America Editor Jon Sopel and Newsgathering Producer Morgan Gisholt Minard lost their seats to the Bidens at Tregenna Castle Hotel in St Ives, Cornwall.
Footage shows Ms Minard clearing her belongings from the table as the Commander-in-chief hovers nearby. Hotel staff swoop in to remove her food and drink as the President’s entourage looms in the background.
Mr Biden says ‘all right, okay,’ to which Ms Minard replies: ‘Well I’m with the BBC so… good to meet you.’ He leans on a chair – wearing his dress down jeans, trainers and holding his cap – as the journalist scuttles past him.
She later tweeted: ‘There are few instances I’d feel compelled to give up my dinner table… I suppose this is an exception. Welcome to Cornwall @POTUS.’
Mr Sopel added: ‘A first in my career. @POTUS comes and sits down at table in a bar next to me and orders a drink. Am trying to act nonchalant.
‘Hope I’m not revealing state secrets but @POTUS drank coke; @FLOTUS a glass of red. Not a beer or cider or pasty in sight.’
The Bidens dressed down in sneakers and jeans for a drink outside the hotel after meeting Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie on Thursday.
The pair walked to the outdoor seating area to the shock of guests and waiting press to unwind after their bilateral meeting. Earlier Mrs Biden met Mrs Johnson’s newborn son Wilfred and Mr Biden and Mr Johnson cracked jokes.
They took in the view from the veranda after the President and PM met for the first time, downplayed their differences and emphasized the ‘special relationship’.
North America Editor Jon Sopel and Newsgathering Producer Morgan Gisholt Minard lost their seats to the Bidens at Tregenna Castle Hotel in St Ives, Cornwall
Footage shows Ms Minard clearing her belongings from the table as the Commander-in-chief hovers nearby. Hotel staff swoop in to remove her food and drink as the President’s entourage looms in the background
President Joe Biden and Jill dressed down into sneakers for a drink outside the Tregenna Castle Hotel in St Ives after his meeting with Boris Johnson
Mr Sopel (left) and Newsgathering Producer Morgan Gisholt Minard (right) both took to Twitter after the meeting to share their experience
Mr Biden said: ‘We had a good first full day in the UK. Prime Minister Johnson and I had a very productive meeting. We affirmed the special relationship — it’s not said lightly — the special relationship between our people.’
Mr Biden gave Mr Johnson a new bike and helmet, according to British reports. And the PM called his American counterpart a ‘breath of fresh air.’
Mr Johnson told the BBC: ‘The talks were great. They went on for a long time. We covered a huge range of subjects.
‘It’s wonderful to listen to the Biden administration and Joe Biden because there’s so much they want to do together with us. It’s fantastic. It’s a breath of fresh air,’ he said of the American president.
The love fest came after Mr Biden and Mr Johnson, along with their wives, held a picturesque photo-op by the ocean amid a transatlantic row between the two nations over Northern Ireland.
Mr Johnson down played a report that the US was unhappy with his government’s handling of Northern Ireland during Brexit talks with the European Union.
He said: ‘There’s complete harmony on the need to keep going, to find solutions and make sure we uphold the Belfast/Good Friday agreement.’
The pair appeared relaxed as they unwound after the bilateral meeting and a visit with Boris Johnson, his wife Carrie and their newborn son Wilfred
The first couple then took in the view from their table and looked relaxed ahead of the start of the G7 today
President Biden checked his phone as security and members of the Secret Service manned the barriers
President Biden said he and UK PM Johnson reaffirmed the special relationship
President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Boris Johnson downplayed their differences and emphasized the ‘special relationship’ between their two nations after their first face-to-face meeting
President Joe Biden gives a half hug to Carrie Johnson
Carbis Bay, United Kingdom. Carrie Johnson, wife of the Prime Minister and First Lady of the United States Dr Jill Biden reacts as Wilfred Johnson sits on the beach during the G7 leaders Summit in Carbis Bay Cornwall
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called President Joe Biden ‘great’ and a ‘breath of fresh air’
President Biden uploaded this photo of the pair to Twitter and said: ‘The special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom is stronger than ever. Thank you for hosting me today, Prime Minister Johnson’
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki (L) and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan (C) listen to President Biden’s remarks
At their meeting, the two leaders downplayed tensions between their nations and joked about their personal lives.
Sitting next to the prime minister on Thursday afternoon, Biden recycled one of his favorite lines, saying the two men had something in common – both married above their station. Boris, 56, and Carrie Johnson, 33, married on May 29.
‘I’m thrilled to meet your wife. I told the prime minister we have something in common: we both married above our station,’ Biden, 78, said.
‘I’m not going to disagree with the president there,’ Johnson responded.
‘Or indeed on anything else. I think it highly likely,’ he added, in what was interpreted as a sly reference to the Northern Ireland issue.
The two couples met on a scenic deck overlooking St Ives Bay, England, a view of the Atlantic Ocean in front of them.
‘It gorgeous. I don’t want to go home,’ Biden said.
Ahead of the meeting, officials tried to down play reports of a strain between Biden and Johnson after a report the president ordered the rebuke of the prime minister. The White House called the report ‘wrong’ and emphasized the special relationship between the two nations.
First lady Jill Biden, 70, was on message for the meet-and-greet, wearing a blazer with the word ‘love’ on the back.
‘I think that we’re bringing love from America. This is a global conference and we are trying to bring unity across the globe and I think it’s needed right bow, that people feel a sense of unity from all the countries and feel a sense hope after this year of the pandemic,’ she said.
After the picturesque greeting, Biden and Johnson split off to view the 1941 Atlantic Charter – they signed a new version at their sit down – and then began their 90 minute meeting. The ‘special relationship’ between the US and the UK began during the dark days of World War II.
Jill Biden told reporters the president had been ‘studying for weeks’ ahead of his first foreign trip. ‘I think he’s so well prepared. He’s been studying for weeks, working up to today. Of course he knows most of the leaders that’ll be here. Joe loves foreign policy. This is his forte,’ she said.
While the president and prime minister met, Jill Biden, wearing a custom Brandon Maxwell dress, and Carrie Johnson, in a red LK Bennett gown, took baby Wilfred to the beach for a stroll and dip in the water. Downing Street released photos of the event and Wilfred’s face was not visible in the pictures.
The flurry of friendly photo-ops and joking repartee gave the message loud and clear: the US-UK special relationship is strong and there is no dissension here.
Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson, his wife Carrie Johnson and President Joe Biden with first lady Jill Biden walk outside Carbis Bay Hotel, Carbis Bay, Cornwall
The two couples met amid tensions over Northern Ireland
Carrie Johnson and Jill Biden walk out to the sea barefoot during their meeting
The newlywed Johnson and the first lady beamed as they played with Wilfred on the sand – with their flip flops beside them
Mrs Johnson grins and gestures to Wilfried while the trio frolicked on the beach
Carrie and her son Wilfred made a grand entrance onto the world stage before the G7 summit
The pair laughed as they paddled in the shallow waters
Biden and Boris share a joke next to the beach in St. Ives
First lady Jill Biden was on message, wearing a jacket with the word ‘Love’ on the back
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, front, and Jeff Zients, White House coronavirus response coordinator, right, listen as President Joe Biden speaks
Boris and Carrie Johnson walk hand-in-hand before their meeting with the Bidens
President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson held their first face-to-face meeting
Jill Biden told reporters the Bidens were ‘bringing the love’ from America
The Bidens and the Johnsons look out at Carbis Bay with a British warship in the distance at the start of their day
From left to right: Jill Biden, the president, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie walk along Carbis Bay
The face-to-face meeting came after White House backed down following a report Biden rebuked Johnson for ‘inflaming tensions’ in Northern Ireland.
Officials tried to put out the diplomatic fire amid personal professional differences between the two leaders.
The flames were fanned when The Times UK reported that Biden ordered US officials to give Johnson an extraordinary diplomatic rebuke for putting the Northern Ireland peace process at risk over Brexit negotiations with the European Union.
Biden officials quickly denied the report ahead of the bilateral talks between the two leaders.
President Biden will not get ‘controversial or adversarial’ when he speaks to Johnson about Northern Ireland.
‘It will not be controversial or adversarial,’ a senior administration official told reporters on a briefing call ahead of the leaders’ sit down. ‘He didn’t come here to give a lecture.’
Biden will say to Johnson ‘what he has said publicly for a long time now,’ the official noted.
The two leaders gave off a friendly vibe amid reports of personal and professional differences
President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson look at copies of the 1941 Atlantic Charter; they will sign an updated version at their meeting on Thursday
Carbis Bay, United Kingdom. Carrie Johnson, wife of the Prime Minister speaks with First Lady of the United States Dr Jill Biden as she walks on the beach with Wilfred Johnson sits on the beach during the G7 leaders Summit in Carbis Bay Cornwall
Carrie Johnson and Jill Biden pose for pictures at the G7 sign
Joe Biden’s G7 schedule includes a meeting with the Queen after summit
President Joe Biden’s first foreign trip as the US leader will feature a meeting with the Queen following the G7 summit. Here’s his full schedule to June 16:
Thursday, June 10
Biden will meet Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Jill Biden will have tea separately with the Prime Minister’s wife Carrie Johnson.
Friday, June 11
Biden will attend the G7 summit for three days starting on Friday, to work on US policy priorities such as the economy and allied unity.
Saturday, June 12
Biden will attend more G7 summit meetings in Cornwall and have bilateral meetings with fellow G7 leaders.
Jill Biden will meet members of Bude Surf Veterans, which helps UK military veterans through surfing.
Sunday, June 13
Biden will finish his meetings at the G7 summit. Afterward, the Bidens will meet Britain’s Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle. Then Biden will travel to Brussels for the night.
Monday, June 14
Biden will meet NATO leaders and have a private meeting with the president of Turkey, Tayyip Erdogan.
Tuesday, June 15
Biden will hold more NATO meetings and then fly to Geneva for the night.
Wednesday, June 16
Biden will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva
‘He believes that the Good Friday agreement is the foundation for peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland,’ the official said, adding that ‘the current discussions between the UK and EU should continue the vitality of Good Friday agreement.’
And officials were quick to blast The Times report, calling it incorrect.
‘This is wrong,’ a senior administration official said.
‘First this discussion wasn’t directed by the president. It was not heightened. As with any ally we have diplomatic conversations about areas where we have concern at many levels,’ the official added.
According to the report, the US issued a ‘demarche’ to Britain, an official diplomatic censure not normally used against allies, especially those as close as the two nations.
The United States was said to have ‘strongly urged’ Britain to ‘stay cool’ and reach an agreement, even if that meant making ‘unpopular compromises’.
The report prompted a massive backlash in the UK as Biden arrived in Cornwall for his meeting with Johnson ahead of the G7 summit. The president is proud of his Irish roots and refers to them often in speeches.
After Brexit, a new agreement was needed for the border between Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, and Ireland, which is part of the European Union, because the EU requires certain goods to be inspected and others not to be admitted at all.
There is a June 30 deadline breathing down the neck of both sides as negotiations over goods – including things like sausages – get contentious.
A spokesman for Number 10 Downing Street refused to be drawn on the White House criticism.
‘I don’t think you would expect me to get into discussions with other countries but I think we have been clear that we need to urgently find solutions that support the Belfast Good Friday Agreement and minimise disruption to communities in Northern Ireland, particularly to avoid disruption to critical supplies such as medicines,’ he said.
‘That is why we have been and continue to work closely with the EU to try to find pragmatic solutions that achieve those objectives.’
The White House interference is not likely to be welcomed by the British and the row seems certain to overshadow the talks between Biden and Johnson.
It also highlights the fundamental political differences between the two leaders.
Biden, the former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who takes pride in his expertise in global affairs, was a staunch opponent of Brexit, the movement Johnson championed.
And Biden once called a Johnson a ‘physical and emotional clone’ of Donald Trump.
Plans for their first meeting got off to a rocky start when Biden’s team was forced to ground Marine One because of the rain and fog. The pair were supposed to hold talks of the St. Michael’s Mount island near St. Ives, but had to move the trip onto the mainland because of the weather.
Biden will now be travelling in a smaller presidential motorcade because his normal mode of transport on roads, The Beast, is too big to fit down country lanes in Cornwall.
US President Joe Bid embarking Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base to travel to England for the G7 and meeting with Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson was seen as a more kindred spirit of Donald Trump; the two men are seen together at the August 2019 G7 meeting in France. Biden once called Boris Trump’s ‘clone’
How sausages sparked a cold meat war between the UK and EU
The ‘sausage war’ row is the latest front in the ongoing stand-off between Britain and the European Union over Northern Ireland.
When Boris Johnson agreed a Brexit deal with Brussels to make Brexit happen it included the Northern Ireland Protocol.
This is a complex trade agreement that tries to deal with the fact that Ulster is the only part of the UK with an EU land border, with Ireland.
The new arrangements have caused some disruption to trade since the start of the year as firms have struggled with new processes and administration.
Under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, which ended decades of sectarian violence in Ulster, the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland must remain ‘soft’, ie no ‘hard’ border posts with checks on traffic.
The NIP, which was signed off by both sides, effectively keeps Northern Ireland in the European single market for goods in order to avoid a hard border with Ireland.
Despite Mr Johnson’s claims to the contrary, it has meant erecting a trade barrier in the Irish Sea for goods crossing from Great Britain, which have to face customs checks before entering Northern Ireland – even if they are not being taken into the Republic.
A six-month ‘grace period’ for these checks was agreed to allow the infrastructure to be put in place, which runs out at the end of June.
But the checks have infuriated the loyalist community in Northern Ireland, who are outraged at the internal UK free market is being interrupted.
Earlier this year, armed loyalist groups said they were temporarily withdrawing support for the 1998 peace agreement due to concerns over the Brexit deal.
The groups said they believed Britain, Ireland and the EU had breached their commitments to the peace deal.
The UK Government has not ruled out unilaterally extending the check-free period after June 30, but that has angered the EU, which says that the UK must honour the deal it signed up to less than six months ago.
Brussels has threatened to launch a trade war against Britain if it fails to implement checks on goods entering Northern Ireland under the terms of the Brexit ‘divorce’ settlement which Mr Johnson signed.
European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic last said patience with the UK was wearing ‘very, very thin’ after talks in London ended in deadlock.
Johnson was seen as more of a kindred spirit to Trump, both of whom fashioned careers as political outsiders trying to shake up the establishment.
American officials tried to put a warm spin on the meeting.
‘We think it makes all the sense in the world for the president’s first overseas trip to be to the United Kingdom,’ a senior administration official said, pointing out the special relationship between the two nations.
The Biden administration is also seeking to reclaim the United States’ presence and leadership on the global stage after four years of Trump’s isolationist strategy.
‘America is back’ is the phrase Biden and his team have used over and over again.
In their sit-down, Biden and Johnson discussed climate change, the coronavirus pandemic, creating an infrastructure financing program for developing countries, Afghanistan and a refresher of the 80-year-old Atlantic Charter between the two nations.
Weather changed some of the plans.
Drizzles and fog surrounded the Cornwall region on Thursday, causing the White House and Downing Street to scrap plans for a scenic face-to-face meeting between the two leaders on St. Michael’s Mount, a 17th-century castle on a tidal island just off the coast of Cornwall.
The meeting, instead, took place on the mainland at Carbis Bay, where the G7 summit is taking place. Additionally, Jill Biden’s previously scheduled tour of the historic castle with Carrie Johnson was cancelled.
At their sitdown, Biden and Johnson pledged to open a US-UK travel corridor ‘as soon as possible’ and open up Transatlantic travel restrictions.
They also established a new ‘Atlantic Charter,’ modelled on the one put together by Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt in World War II.
The 1941 Atlantic Charter was devised at sea on board the Royal Navy battleship HMS Prince of Wales and the American ship USS Augusta. Downing Street had planned to send the modern namesake of HMS Prince of Wales along the coast of Cornwall to provided the backdrop for the two leaders’ sit down.
At his meeting with Johnson, the two men viewed the original Atlantic Charter before they sign a 21st century version.
The new Atlantic Charter focused on threats to modern democracies, an agenda item the White House as emphasized ahead of the trip as American worries grow about the growing world influence of Russia and China.
The areas the two leaders pledged to work together include defending democracy, reaffirming the importance of collective security, and building a fair and sustainable global trading system.
It also recognized the threats of cyber attacks and climate change.
Biden called climate change a great threat to the world.
‘When I went over to the tank in the Pentagon when I was first was elected vice president with President Obama, the military sat us down and let us know what the greatest threats facing America were, the greatest physical threats,’ he told Air Force personnel stationed at Royal Air Force Maidenhall on Wednesday night.
‘This is not a joke. You know what the Joint Chiefs told us the greatest physical threat facing America was? Global warming,’ he said.
On the Northern Ireland issue, The Times reported that Yael Lempert, charge d’affaires at the US Embassy in London, told Brexit Minister Lord Frost the UK’s stance was imperiling the peace process. She had been ordered to issue the diplomatic rebuke, known as a demarche, a step rarely taken between allies, The Times said.
They are often issued alongside a summons for the country’s ambassador to attend the Foreign Office.
Government minutes from June 3 reveal Lord Frost was told of President Biden’s ‘great concern’ in a tense encounter in which Lempert is said to have ‘slowly and gravely read her instructions aloud’.
She is said to have implied the UK had been ‘inflaming the rhetoric’ and asked if the Government would ‘keep it cool’. She also warned the dispute between Britain and the EU was ‘commanding the attention’ of Biden ahead of his meeting with Johnson.
The row now seems certain to overshadow talks between Mr Johnson and Mr Biden today ahead of the G7 meeting of world leaders in Cornwall. Mr Biden arrived in the UK with huge fanfare last night.
How ‘Irish Joe’ Biden has refused to support UK over Northern Ireland
Their nations may have a famed ‘special relationship,’ but President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Boris Johnson will meet for the first time today against a backdrop of differences both political and personal.
Mr Biden hopes to use his first overseas trip as president to reassure European allies that the United States had shed the transactional tendencies of Donald Trump’s term and is a reliable partner again. But tensions may simmer beneath the surface of Biden’s meeting with Johnson.
The president staunchly opposed the Brexit movement, the British exodus from the European Union that Johnson championed, and has expressed great concern with the future of Northern Ireland. And Biden once called the British leader a ‘physical and emotional clone’ of Trump.
Mr Biden has refused to take sides in Northern Ireland since he entered the White House in January, despite the UK being seen as the US’s main ally in Western Europe.
His rebuke to Boris Johnson is a marked departure from the US’s hostility to the EU under his predecessor.
Mr Trump spent his four-year term embroiled in rows with European nations over transatlantic trade and the level of contributions made by Nato member states to defence spending levels.
But Mr Biden is seeking to rebuild relations with the EU, and his criticism of Mr Johnson and the UK should be seen through that prism.
In March, regarding the current impasse over the Northern Ireland Protocol, a spokesman said: ‘We view that as a trade issue to be resolved between the UK and the EU. We hope that both sides are able to return to the table and discuss the implementation of the agreement.’
They should also been seen through the context of the president’s own personal and familial interest in Ireland.
Biden, who is fiercely proud of his Irish roots, has warned that nothing should undermine Northern Ireland’s 1998 Good Friday peace accord. Some on the British side have viewed Biden warily because of his heritage.
Mr Biden has previously spoken with pride about his Irish Catholic roots in his Pennsylvania birthplace, and he travelled to County Mayo in 2016 to visit distant relatives.
He is seen as far more open to Irish re-unification than his predecessor. And he is unlikely to see eye-to-eye with loyalists like the DUP. In 2015 he sparked fury, when, as a senator, he quipped to an Irish delegation that no one ‘wearing orange’ was welcome in his house on St Patrick’s Day, a comment seen as a slur against Protestants in Ulster.
Mr Biden was also photographed alongside former Sinn Fein president Mr Adams and with his arm around the party’s then US representative, Rita O’Hare, in 2017.
In 1972 she was arrested in Northern Ireland for the attempted murder of a British Army officer in Belfast the previous year.
The memo said the US ‘strongly urged’ Britain to come to a ‘negotiated settlement’ even if it meant ‘unpopular compromises’.
But Lempert, who is America’s most senior diplomat in Britain, said that if the UK could accept demands to follow EU rules on agricultural standards, Mr Biden would ensure the matter ‘wouldn’t negatively affect the chances of reaching a US/UK free trade deal.’
A ban affecting goods including burgers and chicken nuggets is due to come into force at the end of this month when a grace period expires.
Tory MP Peter Bone told MailOnline that if Biden does comment publicly he will be interfering in the ‘internal affairs’ of the UK.
‘It isn’t anything to do with President Biden. It would be very strange if we were to comment on a domestic issue relating to a part of the US. It is an internal matter.
‘I would be very surprised if he says anything in public. And obviously what people say anonymously must be taken with not just a pinch of salt, a pot of salt.’
And long-standing Eurosceptic Tory John Redwood today said: ‘If President Biden wishes to back a good outcome on the island of Ireland he needs to press the EU to respect the UK internal market and the views of the majority in Northern Ireland. It is the EU disrupting trade.’
But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: ‘We’ve just seen an unprecedented rebuke from President Biden in relation to the negotiations in relation to Northern Ireland.
‘And that comes on the back of months of chaos, of lack of preparedness and, frankly, the Government misleading the public.
‘I’ve worked in Northern Ireland. I know what it means for those communities and the way the Government is going about this is undermining the peace process. But it’s now also undermining our relationship with America. So we need to make progress on this.’
At their arrival in the UK on Wednesday night, Joe and Jill Biden received a warm welcome at the base, garnering several rounds of applause. They spoke outdoors as the sun set behind them. Both Bidens wore face masks but took them off to speak.
President Biden mentioned his late son Beau, a major in the Delaware Army National Guard. He teared up as he thanked military personnel the Royal Air Force Mildenhall for their service.
‘I wish my major was here to thank you as well,’ he said referencing his late son, who died of brain cancer in 2015. ‘You’re the best of our country,’ he added.
He also outlined the goals of his trip and the message he wanted to give to world: ‘The United States is back and the democracies of the world are standing together to face the toughest challenges.’
Biden said during his meetings with fellow leaders, he would focus on COVID, climate change, and on protecting themselves from ‘the growing threat of ransomware attacks…[and] the autocrats who are letting it happen.’
After his G7 meeting, Biden heads over to the main continent, where he will meet in Brussels with NATO and EU leaders, where the Russian and Chinese threats will top the agenda.
Biden is also facing mounting criticism of his domestic policy during his first foreign trip.
On Thursday, newly released statistics showed inflation rose by 5 percent in April compared to 2020, the biggest jump since the Great Recession in 2008.
The administration is also trying to resurrect infrastructure talks that collapsed with Republican Senator Shelley Capito last week.
There is also intense criticism over Vice President Kamala Harris’ trip to the Northern Triangle and her meetings with the presidents of Guatemala and Mexico.
The White House on Thursday morning insisted her trip was a ‘success’ – despite reports stating insiders were ‘perplexed’ by her snippy answers when asked why she refuses to visit the border.
She also enraged progressive Democrats by telling migrants to not make the ‘dangerous trek’ to the US-Mexico border.
‘Do not come’, insisted during a press conference with the President of Guatemala Alejandro Giammattei.
Giammattei sat down for an interview for Fox News on Wednesday night where he said Biden was to blame for the border crisis.
Giammattei also said he’d offered a solution to Vice President Kamala Harris by urging the US to work with him to prosecutor people smugglers.
Giammattei told Sean Hannity reporter Sara Carter: ‘You can see that humanitarian messages were used here by the coyotes in a distorted manner.
‘They said that they were going to support family reunification.
‘So the coyotes came and took the children and teenagers to the United States.
‘And the border filled up. Not only with people from Guatemala, but lots of people.
‘That’s why we have suggested that the messaging be clear.’
Biden and Johnson sign new Atlantic Charter to reaffirm the ‘special relationship’ – in document modeled on FDR and Churchill’s pact
President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister signed a new Atlantic Charter on Thursday. It is modelled after the 1941 Atlantic Charter signed by Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill during World War II.
The New Atlantic Charter
Today, the President of the United States and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom reaffirm their commitment to work together to realise our vision for a more peaceful and prosperous future.
Our revitalised Atlantic Charter, building on the commitments and aspirations set out eighty years ago, affirms our ongoing commitment to sustaining our enduring values and defending them against new and old challenges. We commit to working closely with all partners who share our democratic values and to countering the efforts of those who seek to undermine our alliances and institutions.
First, we resolve to defend the principles, values, and institutions of democracy and open societies, which drive our own national strength and our alliances. We must ensure that democracies – starting with our own – can deliver on solving the critical challenges of our time. We will champion transparency, uphold the rule of law, and support civil society and independent media. We will also confront injustice and inequality and defend the inherent dignity and human rights of all individuals.
Second, we intend to strengthen the institutions, laws, and norms that sustain international co-operation to adapt them to meet the new challenges of the 21st century, and guard against those that would undermine them. We will work through the rules-based international order to tackle global challenges together; embrace the promise and manage the peril of emerging technologies; promote economic advancement and the dignity of work; and enable open and fair trade between nations.
Third, we remain united behind the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the peaceful resolution of disputes. We oppose interference through disinformation or other malign influences, including in elections, and reaffirm our commitment to debt transparency, sustainability and sound governance of debt relief. So too will we defend key principles such as freedom of navigation and overflight and other internationally lawful uses of the seas.
Fourth, we resolve to harness and protect our innovative edge in science and technology to support our shared security and deliver jobs at home; to open new markets; to promote the development and deployment of new standards and technologies to support democratic values; to continue to invest in research into the biggest challenges facing the world; and to foster sustainable global development.
Fifth, we affirm our shared responsibility for maintaining our collective security and international stability and resilience against the full spectrum of modern threats, including cyber threats. We have declared our nuclear deterrents to the defence of NATO and as long as there are nuclear weapons, NATO will remain a nuclear alliance. Our NATO Allies and partners will always be able to count on us, even as they continue to strengthen their own national forces. We pledge to promote the framework of responsible State behaviour in cyberspace, arms control, disarmament, and proliferation prevention measures to reduce the risks of international conflict. We remain committed to countering terrorists who threaten our citizens and interests.
Sixth, we commit to continue building an inclusive, fair, climate-friendly, sustainable, rules-based global economy for the 21st century. We will strengthen financial stability and transparency, fight corruption and illicit finance, and innovate and compete through high labour and environmental standards.
Seventh, the world has reached a critical point where it must act urgently and ambitiously to tackle the climate crisis, protect biodiversity, and sustain nature. Our countries will prioritise these issues in all our international action.
Eighth, we recognise the catastrophic impact of health crises, and the global good in strengthening our collective defences against health threats. We commit to continuing to collaborate to strengthen health systems and advance our health protections, and to assist others to do the same.
Biden’s Cornish West Wing: US president and G7 leaders hole up in $250-a-night castle hotel that has been turned into a fortress in staycation hotspot St . Ives
World leaders attending the G7 summit in Cornwall this weekend will spend their downtime at an 18th century castle that has been turned into a fortress.
The Grade II-listed Tregenna Castle Resort was built in 1774 and will be home for the likes of US president Joe Biden between discussions at the summit.
And Mr Biden will feel right at home with the hotel’s best rooms dubbed the West Wing Sea View rooms with stunning views over St Ives.
Set in 72 acres with commanding views of the St Ives coastline, the Treganna Castle was seen as the perfect place for world leaders to stay and relax after attending meetings of the G7 summit.
Rooms at the normally go for £200 a night and the area is a staycation hotspot for Britons while foreign travel is restricted by the coronavirus pandemic.
With its secluded grounds, manicured lawns and an 18-hole golf course – an ideal landing spot for US President Joe Biden’s Marine One helicopter – it is by far the largest and grandest hotel in Cornwall.
With 98 rooms and 55 apartments it was large enough to cope with the President’s entourage of advisors and Secret Service agents as well as other world leaders from France, Germany, Italy and Japan.
Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie will also be in residence during the summit taking place a short distance away at the Carbis Bay Hotel.
And to ensure the privacy of the world leaders, a giant fence has been erected around Tregenna, with police on patrol with sniffer dogs and extra lighting installed.
Mr Biden will feel right at home with the hotel’s best rooms dubbed the West Wing Sea View rooms with stunning views over St Ives
The US President and his wife Jill are thought to be staying in one of the self-contained apartments (pictured) with spectacular views over St Ives Bay or one of the West Wing suites
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