Afternoon summary
Rishi Sunak has refused to comment directly on the Labour attack ad smear claiming that he does not believe adults who sexually assault children should go to prison. (See 2.30pm.) Keir Starmer has defended Labour’s right to attack Sunak over what the Tories have done during their whole 13 years in power, even though Sunak was not even an MP until 2015. (See 3.20pm.)
Updated
Liz Truss has delivered her speech to the Heritage Foundation in Washington. As Aubrey Allegretti reported in his overnight story, based on extracts released in advance, she criticised Emmanuel Macron, the French president, for the stance he took when he visited China last week.
As Jason Groves from the Mail and Matt Honeycombe-Foster from Politico report, in her Q&A Truss went even further, describing Macron’s visit as a “mistake”.
Liz Truss says Macron's visit to China was 'a mistake', and accuses the French President of peddling a false narrative that there is a 'moral equivalence' between China and the West
— Jason Groves (@JasonGroves1) April 12, 2023
More Macron digs from Truss in the Q&A. Ex-PM says French prez guilty of "moral equivalence" between U.S. and China.
— Matt Honeycombe-Foster (@matt_hfoster) April 12, 2023
Truss: "It is a totalitarian regime and we need to adapt our policies accordingly. And we need to be much more sceptical about what is said by China and what their promises are ... I don't agree at all with the visit by Ursula von der Leyen & Macron. I think it was a mistake."
— Matt Honeycombe-Foster (@matt_hfoster) April 12, 2023
In her main speech, as my colleague David Smith reports, she says she failed to implement her plans as PM because she faced “coordinated resistance” which was much stronger than she expected. Most commentators concluded that she failed because her mini-budget alarmed the financial markets, and came close to crashing the pensions industry, but Truss did not acknowledge any fault with her policies in her speech or Q&A afterwards.
Truss: There are groups invested in maintaining the status quo. "As prime minister, I simply underestimated the scale and depth of this resistance." My plans were "about making Britain more competitive... We faced coordinated resistance."
— David Smith (@SmithInAmerica) April 12, 2023
Updated
Here is another photo from Keir Starmer’s walkabout in Great Yarmouth earlier today with Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor.
Intentionally or not, Starmer and Reeves were recreating one of the most famous pictures from the 2005 general election, when Tony Blair bought an ice cream for Gordon Brown during one of their rare joint appearances in the election campaign. The event was staged to dispel claims (which were true) that Blair and Brown were, at that point, barely on speaking terms. The relationship between Starmer and Reeves is very different, and much better, and so perhaps they just fancied a snack.
Updated
Michelle O’Neill, the Sinn Féin leader in Northern Ireland and first minister designate, said Joe Biden hit “the right note” with his speech. She said:
I think he sent a very clear message that everything that has been achieved over the past 25 years is something to be celebrated, but he very much was future focused, he was looking forward to the next 25 years, it was about the hope and the opportunity, but I think his message was clear, we need peace, we need stability and we need prosperity, those things all go hand in hand. I think his message was very much on the right note.
Colum Eastwood, leader of the nationalist SDLP party in Northern Ireland, said Joe Biden’s speech was “a very clear recommitment of the peace process and the prosperity process”.
He said he told Biden when they met privately that, in the words of the late John Hume, co-architect of the peace process, that “the best peace process is a job”.
“He got that and gets that investment is needed in the areas of places that have been left behind like mine,” Eastwood added, in a reference to Derry, where trouble flared at the weekend among dissident republicans in the impoverished Creggan area.
Updated
Donaldson refuses to endorse claim by DUP colleagues who say Biden is anti-British
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP leader, has also refused to endorse the claim made by some of his party colleagues that Joe Biden is anti-British. (See 9.18am and 10.37am.)
Asked if he agreed with this view, Donaldson replied:
I welcome his reference today to the Ulster Scots who made such an enormous contribution to the building of the United States of America. I think that is an indication, an acknowledgement from the president of the United States of the very special contribution that Northern Ireland has made to the building of his country.
And his reference also to his own British ancestry, I think indicates hopefully that we have a president that recognises the United Kingdom is a close ally and friend of the United States.
DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson says Biden's speech won't have impact on whether power-sharing restored
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP leader, described Joe Biden’s speech in Belfast as “measured”. But he insisted that Biden’s call for power-sharing to be restored (see 1.20pm) would not by itself have any impact. He said:
It’s good to see the president here and we always welcome our visitors to Northern Ireland.
But, in the end, will it change the political dynamic? That’s up to the people of Northern Ireland and to the leaders of Northern to get the solutions that we need to move Northern Ireland forward and in that sense we will continue to work every day to get those solutions.
Explaining what would have to happen for the DUP to return to power-sharing, he said:
We believe the government needs to go further in terms of protecting Northern Ireland’s place within the United Kingdom and our ability to trade within the UK internal market.
That’s what needs to happen now to enable us to move towards the restoration of the political institutions. We need the government to deliver what they’ve said they will do, which is to protect our place in the United Kingdom.
Joe Biden has landed in Dublin. He is visiting Co Louth in Ireland, on the border with Northern Ireland, later (see 12.35pm), and was originally meant to go there from Belfast by helicopter, but had to change his travel plans because of the bad weather.
Hancock claims inquiry he's facing by Commons standards watchdog based on 'misunderstanding'
Matt Hancock, the former Tory health secretary, is among three MPs who have been placed under investigation by parliament’s standards watchdog, Aubrey Allegretti reports. Hancock is being looked into over allegations he broke the MPs’ code of conduct by “lobbying the commissioner in a manner calculated or intended to influence his consideration” of whether a separate breach had been committed.
A spokesperson for Hancok said the inquiry was based on a “misunderstanding”. The spokesperson explained:
Mr Hancock is shocked and surprised by the investigation.
Far from lobbying the commissioner, Matt wrote to Mr Greenberg in good faith to offer some additional evidence that he thought was not only pertinent but helpful for an inquiry the parliamentary commissioner for standards is currently conducting.
It’s clearly a misunderstanding and Matt looks forward to fully engaging with the commissioner to clear this up.
According to Sky’s Sam Coates, while Joe Biden was delivering his speech, Rishi Sunak, instead of being there to listen, was meeting DCI John Caldwell, the police officer shot in a terrorist attack last month.
While President Biden was giving his speech, some wondered where Rishi Sunak was.
— Sam Coates Sky (@SamCoatesSky) April 12, 2023
The PM was meeting with DCI John Caldwell and his family this afternoon.
Caldwell is one of the best-known detectives in the Police Service of Northern Ireland and was shot in Omagh a month ago
Sunak had promised the family he’d come and see them next time he was in NI
— Sam Coates Sky (@SamCoatesSky) April 12, 2023
Starmer says it is legitimate for Labour to attack Sunak over what Tories did before he became MP and PM
Keir Starmer was also asked about the controversy over Labour’s anti-Sunak attack ads, when he was on a campaign visit in Great Yarmouth today. One of the criticisms of the various ads focusing on sentencing policy (here and here and here) is that they featured statistics from 2010, when Sunak did not even become an MP until 2015, and only became PM last autumn.
Starmer said it was legitimate to attack Sunak on the basis of his party’s record. He said:
I make no apologies for highlighting the failures of this government.
They’ve broken our NHS, they’ve broken our economy. And this argument that because they’ve changed prime minister five times, that somehow the prime minister doesn’t bear responsibility for 13 years of grief for many, many people, I just don’t think stacks up.
The most recent advert clearly refers to the controversy generated by Sunak’s wife, Akshata Murty, having non-dom tax status.
A Labour government would freeze council tax this year, paid for by a proper windfall tax on oil and gas giants.
— The Labour Party (@UKLabour) April 11, 2023
And we’d scrap the Tories’ non-dom tax loophole. pic.twitter.com/tBkNAhKPtA
But, according to PA Media, Starmer said “nobody is targeting the prime minister’s wife” when asked about this.
Updated
Sunak says he hopes to find 'reasonable compromise' to end junior doctors' strike
In his pooled TV interview Rishi Sunak said he was “surprised to read” that the British Medical Association’s junior doctors committee co-chairman Dr Robert Laurenson was on holiday during the strikes. The Daily Telegraph splashed on the story this morning.
TELEGRAPH: Union boss on holiday as doctors walk out #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/JnnReGbfod
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) April 11, 2023
Sunak also said he wanted to find a “reasonable compromise”. He said:
What I’m focused on is making sure we get the right outcome for patients and taxpayers.
I think the government has got a track record in showing that it can get round the table and find reasonable compromise and a way through these difficult situations, as we’ve already done with several other health unions that represent over a million NHS workers including nurses and paramedics.
Updated
This is from my colleague Lisa O’Carroll.
Politicians queuing up for handshakes and photos as Biden works the room after speech pic.twitter.com/chLKxx1iq2
— Lisa O'Carroll (@lisaocarroll) April 12, 2023
Sunak and Biden discussed need to challenge 'economic coercion' by authoritarian regimes, No 10 says
Downing Street has issued its readout from Rishi Sunak’s meeting with Joe Biden. On Northern Ireland, both leaders said that the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement was a moment to celebrate and that they wanted to see power-sharing restored.
But they also discussed the global economy, and the need to challenge “economic coercion” by authoritarian regimes (presumably a reference to China and Russia). In its readout No 10 said:
[Sunak and Biden] agreed that manipulation of global markets by authoritarian leaders demonstrates, more than ever, the need for like-minded partners to work together to support the economic health and security of our nations.
The leaders said that the thriving trade relationship between the UK and US demonstrates we are doing just that.
They looked forward to discussing the issue of economic security further during the G7 summit next month and the prime minister’s visit to Washington DC in June.
They also agreed on the importance of using global forums like the G7 and G20 to challenge economic coercion and market manipulation, and promote the economic well-being of our countries.
Updated
UK national debt will continue to rise over next five years, says IMF
Britain’s national debt will continue to climb over the next five years, putting at risk one of Rishi Sunak’s key pledges to voters, according to an International Monetary Fund study. Larry Elliott has the story here.
Updated
Sunak refuses to comment directly on Labour's attack ad smear, saying he is focusing on 'delivering for people'
In his pooled broadcast interview, Rishi Sunak was asked by Sky’s Sam Coates about the Labour party advert claiming he did not believe adults who sexually assault children should go to prison.
Sunak refused to respond directly to the smear, and instead stressed he was focusing on delivering for the people. He said:
I said at the beginning of this year I was focused on delivering for the British people.
There were five things I said I wanted to do, which was to halve inflation, grow the economy, reduce debt, cut waiting lists and stop the boats.
And that’s what I’m focused on, day in, day out, delivering for people.
And I think that’s what the British people want to see from their politicians: less talk, more action, making a difference on the things that matter.
The advert was widely condemned as a smear because it stated as fact that Sunak does not think adults convicted of sexually assaulting children should go to prison. There are legitimate questions to ask about why some adults convicted of these offences are not being jailed, but that does not mean Sunak does not believe jail sentences aren’t generally appropriate, as the ad says, and no one in the Labour party has seriously tried to argue that that is what Sunak thinks.
Sunak dismisses suggestions he should have spent more time in talks with Biden
Rishi Sunak has recorded a pooled interview about his meeting with Joe Biden.
Sam Coates, the interviewer, asked why we were not seeing more of Sunak and Biden together. He said Sunak did not even attend the speech.
Sunak said that he had a “very good discussion” with Biden today “about a range of issues, economic investment in Northern Ireland, but also a range of foreign policy issues, importance of economic security”. But he also said they had met last month, and were meeting again next month at the G7.
He said the relationship was “in great shape”.
Joe Biden’s Twitter feed sums up what the White House sees as the key messages from his speech.
Sometimes — especially with the distance of history — we forget how hard-earned the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement's peace was.
— President Biden (@POTUS) April 12, 2023
It shifted the political gravity of our world.
I want the people of Northern Ireland to know: we were with you every step of the way. And we still are.
To the young people of Northern Ireland –
— President Biden (@POTUS) April 12, 2023
Your history is our history.
Your future is our future.
It’s hard to communicate just how deeply invested in your success people across the United States are.
The lesson of the Good Friday Agreement is this:
— President Biden (@POTUS) April 12, 2023
In times when things seem fragile or easily broken – that is when hope and hard work are needed most.
Joe Biden posed for a picture with the actor James Martin, whom he mentioned in his speech. (See 1.14pm.)
President Biden just got his pic with Oscar winner and An Irish Goodbye star James Martin pic.twitter.com/8RG60GmM57
— Amanda Ferguson (@AmandaFBelfast) April 12, 2023
Photograph: Niall Carson/PA
Biden says, without being 'presumptuous', he hopes power sharing soon restored
Biden is now talking about power sharing. He says he hopes it is not “too presumptuous” of him to say that “the democratic institutions” established by the Good Friday agreement are critical to the future of Northern Ireland.
I hope the assembly and the executive will soon be restored. That’s a judgment for you to make, and I hope it happens, along with institutions that facilitate north/south and east/west relations, all of which are vital pieces of the Good Friday agreement.
Biden ends his speech by urging Northern Ireland to recommit to renewal.
UPDATE: Biden said:
As a friend, I hope it’s not too presumptuous for me to say that I believe the democratic institutions established in the Good Friday Agreement remain critical for the future of Northern Ireland.
It’s a decision for you to make, not for me to make, but it seems to me they are related.
An effective devolved government that reflects the people of Northern Ireland and is accountable to them, a government that works to find ways through hard problems together, is going to draw even greater opportunity in this region.
So I hope the assembly and the executive will soon be restored. That’s a judgment for you to make, not me, but I hope it happens, along with the institutions that facilitate north south and east west relations, all of which are vital pieces of the Good Friday agreement.
For in politics, no matter what divides us, if we look hard enough, there are always areas that are going to bring us together if we look hard enough. Standing for peace and rejecting political violence must be one of those things.
Updated
Biden praises Northern Ireland for its artistic and creative potential. He says James Martin, Oscar-winning star of An Irish Goodbye, is here.
UPDATE: This is from Bloomberg’s Jennifer Jacobs.
Biden had his photo taken in Belfast with actor James Martin from “An Irish Goodbye,” which won the Oscar for best live action short film. https://t.co/fmXrOcLFY4
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) April 12, 2023
Updated
Biden says Northern Ireland presents 'unprecedented economic opportunity' and scores of US firms ready to invest
Biden is now delivering the investment message.
He says there is an “unprecedented economic opportunity” in Northern Ireland.
Since the Good Friday agreement, GDP has doubled. If things continue to move in the right direction, it could triple, he says.
There are scores of major American corporations wanting to come here, wanting to invest.
UPDATE: Biden said:
Today’s Belfast is the beating heart of Northern Ireland and is poised to drive unprecedented economic opportunity and investment, from communities across the UK, across Ireland, across the United States. The simple truth is that peace and economic opportunity go together.
The 25 years since the Good Friday agreement, Northern Ireland’s gross domestic product has literally doubled …
There are scores of major American corporations wanting to come here, wanting to invest. Many have already made homes in Northern Ireland.
Updated
'Your history is our history', says Biden, as he stresses support for Northern Ireland is cause that unites all Americans
Biden is changing gear, and the speech is now getting deeper, and more serious.
He says “the American people were with are with you every step of the way”.
He says in America “there is a large population that is invested in what happens here, cares a great deal about what happens here”.
So supporting the people of Northern Ireland, and protecting the peace process, is “a priority” for Americans, he says.
He says America is now very divided. But support for Northern Ireland “is something that brings Washington together and brings America together”.
He says the White House was designed by an Irishman. He goes on:
Your history is our history.
But, even more important, your future is America’s future.
Updated
Biden says there were no guarantees the Good Friday agreement would hold. It took “long, hard years of work” to get there, he says.
He pays credit to some of the Northern Irish political leaders from that period.
At the time a peaceful future seemed so distant, he says.
When he first visited Northern Ireland as a young senator, peace did not seem realistic.
He pays tribute to the role played by the women’s coaliton, and to Senator George Mitchell, who chaired the talks leading up to the Good Friday agreement. That was one of the great examples in history of having “the right person in the right job at the right time”, he says.
During the talks, they had 700 days of failure, and one day of success, he says.
Biden says the former US ambassador to the UK brought him back a copy of a book about Captain George Biden.
He says the ambassador used to tell him he was English, not Irish.
George Biden wrote the rules about mutiny in the British navy, he says.
Biden says he came to Belfast in 1991, and in those days you would not have had a glass building here (because of the bombs).
He says he was honoured to welcome the Northern Irish political leaders to the White House recently, and it was good to see them again today.
UPDATE: Biden said:
This very campus is situated at an intersection where conflict and bloodshed once held a terrible sway.
The idea to have a glass building here when I was here in ’91 was highly unlikely.
Where barbed wire once sliced up the city, today we find a cathedral of learning built of glass and let the light shine in and out.
This has a profound impact for someone who has come back to see it.
It’s an incredible testament to the power and the possibilities of peace.
Updated
Joe Biden is starting his speech at Ulster University.
President Biden takes the stage at Ulster University pic.twitter.com/J8sES51ZXk
— David Charter (@DavidCharter) April 12, 2023
Updated
Scottish government confirms it is seeking judicial review of Westminster's decision to block gender recognition reform bill
Turning away from Northern Ireland for a moment, the Scottish government has confirmed that it is going to court to try to overturn the UK government’s decision to block its gender recognition reform bill. Humza Yousaf, the new first minister, promised to do this during the SNP leadership contest.
Shirley-Anne Somerville, the social justice secretary, has told the Scottish parliament in a written statement that the Scottish government will lodge a petition for a judicial review of the decision.
'We believe in you', US ambassador tells Northern Ireland, stressing investment possibilities
At Ulster University Jane Hartley, the US ambassador to the UK, has just given a speech to the audience gathered to listen to Joe Biden. She described the Belfast/Good Friday agreement as a “stunning achievement” and said that the US wanted the next 25 years in Northern Ireland to be about prosperity. She went on:
The United States is the largest source of foreign direct investment in Northern Ireland and, as a former businesswoman I can tell you, you invest in something when you believe in it.
And we believe in you.
We believe in your progress.
We believe there is no turning back now.
Joe Biden has meeting Northern Irish political leaders at Ulster University ahead of his speech. Judging by the timetable, it sounds more like an exercise in speed dating than proper political engagement.
These are from my colleague Lisa O’Carroll.
Jeffrey Donaldson has finished his meeting with Biden. Naomi Long out 5 minutes later
— Lisa O'Carroll (@lisaocarroll) April 12, 2023
Doug Beattie, UUP leader has just come out of meeting with Biden : “”had a nice chat about the GFA Belfast Agreement. Talked about the economic opportunities that we have. He takes about the relationship he had with the U.K. helping to write some of the rules for the British Navy
— Lisa O'Carroll (@lisaocarroll) April 12, 2023
Colum Eastwood, SDLP leader out of meeting with Biden. “What did he say?” “How are you man!”… “talked about the increment and the opportunities to get things moving here”
— Lisa O'Carroll (@lisaocarroll) April 12, 2023
Here is a Guardian graphic setting out Joe Biden’s schedule during his Irish tour.
Henry Zeffman from the Times reckons Joe Biden is only attracting modest-sized crowds in Belfast.
Fairly modest crowds out in Belfast for Joe Biden, it has to be said pic.twitter.com/2zhMEhwBff
— Henry Zeffman (@hzeffman) April 12, 2023
Tory peer accuses Suella Braverman of ‘racist rhetoric’ over grooming gangs
Lady Warsi, a former Conservative party chair, has accused Suella Braverman of using “racist rhetoric” after the home secretary singled out British-Pakistani men as being of special concern in relation to child sexual abuse cases, Aletha Adu reports.
Lisa O’Carroll, who is at Ulster University waiting for Joe Biden’s speech, has posted video on Twitter of some of Northern Ireland’s political leaders being invited into a side room where they will meet the US president.
Party leaders just been called into a side room ahead of Biden arrival. Chris heaton-Harris and Paul Narain, US consul general in Belfast pic.twitter.com/dTW3hJgVu0
— Lisa O'Carroll (@lisaocarroll) April 12, 2023
Foreign Office says Roman Abramovich's 'financial fixer' among new group facing anti-Putin sanctions
A Cypriot fixer, Demetris Ioannides, described by the Foreign Office being responsible “for crafting the murky offshore structures which [Roman] Abramovich used to hide over £760m assets”, is among a group of people being targeted by UK sanctions announced today. In its news release, the Foreign Office says the new sanctions are aimed at “financial fixers” working for oligarchs loyal to Vladimir Putin, as well as some oligarchs’ relatives.
With less than 90 minutes before Joe Biden arrives in Ulster University for his speech, Northern Ireland political parties have still not had their meeting with the US president confirmed.
Leaders of all five main parties are sitting among the 100 or so guests already waiting in the auditorium for a speech that will restate America’s commitment to peace and prosperity in Northern Ireland.
One MP said: “We have been told we will be meeting him just before he speaks but we don’t know where.”
The trip to Belfast has been marred by repeated speculation of a rift between the White House and Downing Street on the nature of the US presidential visit, which has been edited down to half a day, with three days to follow south of the border.
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP leader, was seen at the back of the auditorium chatting and joking to Joe Kennedy III, Biden’s recently appointed economic envoy.
Biden is expected to wave a large financial carrot in front of the DUP in an effort to persuade them to return to Stormont, with an economic summit and a redoubling of efforts to lure US investment into Northern Ireland if power sharing in Stormont can be restored.
Jeffrey Donaldson has just arrived at Ulster University, chatting away to Joe Kennedy the US economic envoy pic.twitter.com/SAdsneoGhK
— Lisa O'Carroll (@lisaocarroll) April 12, 2023
Very small but tall auditorium where Biden will make speech. Party leaders at front on far right including Sinn Fein, UUP, SDLP and DUP’s Sir Jeffrey Donaldson who has just arrived. Leaders still don’t know when they are meeting Biden - expecting to be called into side room… pic.twitter.com/rRbLWyAJtJ
— Lisa O'Carroll (@lisaocarroll) April 12, 2023
As many press here as there are guests pic.twitter.com/z4mBNCIuOn
— Lisa O'Carroll (@lisaocarroll) April 12, 2023
Updated
Biden says he's 'here to listen' in Northern Ireland
The US president told reporters he was “here to listen” as he met Rishi Sunak at a hotel in central Belfast, PA Media reports. PA says:
Joe Biden faced a volley of questions from reporters, including whether he had a message for Northern Irish parties and why he was not discussing a trade deal while on his visit to the UK.
Biden, meeting the prime minister on the upper floors of the Grand Central Hotel, said: “Heck of a view out there.”
Sunak, smiling, sat at a table with the US president as the pair met over cups of tea.
The focus on being “here to listen” is probably intended to counter unionist concerns that he is here to strongarm or lecture them. (See 9.18am, 10.17am and 10.37am.)
UPDATE: This tweet, from the Washington Post’s Matt Viser, makes it clear that Biden said he was there “to listen” in response to a question about what he was going to tell the Northern Ireland parties. In other words, he wanted to stress he wasn’t in lecture mode.
President Biden, appearing pleased to be in Belfast. “Heck of a view out there,” he remarked from the top floor of a downtown hotel.
— Matt Viser (@mviser) April 12, 2023
Asked what he was going to say to the Northern Ireland political parties, he responded: "I'm going to listen." pic.twitter.com/vuZpzDv1bk
Updated
Perhaps anxious to show that he does not hate Britain, or Northern Ireland, Joe Biden (or, more accurately, the person running his social media) tweeted a message this morning it being “great” being back.
Hello, Northern Ireland!
— President Biden (@POTUS) April 12, 2023
It's so great to be back. pic.twitter.com/A4PjLONoic
Sky News has broadcast footage of Joe Biden meeting Rishi Sunak in his Belfast hotel. (It does look more like a coffee than a bilateral – see 9.54am.)
Updated
Junior doctors’ union asks Acas to help end strikes deadlock
The British Medical Association has asked the conciliation service Acas to look into ways of breaking the deadlock in the dispute between junior doctors and the government over the medics’ claim for a 35% pay rise, Denis Campbell reports.
White House rejects DUP claims that Biden is 'anti-British'
Joe Biden is “not anti-British,” one of his most senior aides has said in response to accusations by the former Democratic Unionist party leader Arlene Foster that the US president “hates the UK”. (See 10.37am.)
Just hours after he arrived in Belfast, the purpose of Biden’s short visit to Northern Ireland was being questioned by unionists who have been boycotting power-sharing arrangements in Northern Ireland for more than a year, meaning the territory has no devolved government.
At a briefing in Belfast, Amanda Sloat, special assistant to Biden and senior director for Europe at the national security council, denied the president’s Irish heritage made him biased against the British in relation to the continued deadlock over the devolved government in Stormont. She said:
I think the track record of of the president shows that he is not anti-British. The president has been very actively engaged throughout his career dating back to when he was a senator in the peace process in Northern Ireland and that involved engagement with leaders of all of Northern Ireland parties from both of the two main communities.
At a keynote speech at lunch time Biden will be sending out a message underlining the US’s continued support for the peace process in Northern Ireland and his “strong desire” to see enduring economic prosperity and political stability. Sloat said:
I think his message to the DUP and to all the political leaders is going to be … the continued strong support for seeing the peace process move forward here and the strong desire by this president to increase US investment in Northern Ireland to take advantage of the vast economic potential that that seems here, and to reiterate broad support for the returning of the devolved government in Northern Ireland.
Updated
Biden 'hates the UK', former DUP leader and former first minister Arlene Foster claims
Arlene Foster, the former DUP leader and former Northern Ireland first minister, told GB News last night that Joe Biden was more opposed to unionism than any US president in modern times. She said he hates the UK. She said:
He hates the United Kingdom, I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.
I just think the fact he’s coming here won’t put any pressure on the DUP at all, quite the reverse actually, because he’s seen by so many people as just simply pro-republican and pro-nationalist.
'Joe Biden hates the UK, I don't think there's any doubt about that.'
— GB News (@GBNEWS) April 11, 2023
Former First Minister of Northern Ireland Dame Arlene Foster says that Joe Biden's visit to Northern Ireland 'won't put any pressure on the DUP because he's seen by so many people as simply pro-republic'. pic.twitter.com/uE6qrLVuoc
The DUP MP Sammy Wilson has also described Biden as “anti-British”. (See 9.18am.)
Updated
Biden partly to blame for power sharing not operating because of his pro-EU stance on NI protocol, says DUP's Sammy Wilson
The DUP MP Sammy Wilson has escalated his criticism of Joe Biden (see 9.18am) this morning, suggested that he and US government are partly to blame for power sharing not operating.
In an interview with TalkTV, Wilson claimed that Biden had been “trying to force the UK to fit into the EU mould” during the negotiations on implementing Brexit. And, restating his opposition to the Windsor framework, the revised version of the Northern Ireland protocol negotiated this year, Wilson said Biden was wrong about it.
After explaining his objections to the Windsor framework, Wilson said:
This is, of course, the result of a prime minister who claims to be a Conservative and unionist prime minister bowing to pressure, partly at least, from the Americans. And Joe Biden has played his part.
He has to accept the responsibility which he has in the institutions of the Good Friday agreement not working today and also in the political stability in Northern Ireland being impacted impacted by foreign interference from the EU, back by foreign interference by the American government, and unfortunately responded to by a spineless government at Westminster.
Asked if there was any chance of power sharing at Stormont being resumed by before the local elections in Northern Ireland on 18 May, Wilson replied:
I hope that [Biden] doesn’t come here and lecture us about democracy and getting the Stormont assembly going. He wouldn’t accept any interference in the affairs of America by outside bodies or outside governments, I don’t think he should expect us to respond that either.
Wilson also said the DUP “can’t possibly go back into Stormont” if the UK government was not willing to “undo the damage” done by the Windsor framework.
The DUP’s Sammy Wilson criticises Joe Biden as “extremely partisan.”
— TalkTV (@TalkTV) April 12, 2023
“Political stability in Northern Ireland is impacted by foreign interference from the EU, backed by foreign interference from the American government and responded to by a spineless Westminster.”@JuliaHB1 pic.twitter.com/fBmX8v1vOa
Updated
Chris Mason, the BBC’s political editor, has described Joe Biden’s visit to Northern Ireland as a “blink and you’ll miss it” trip. By the end of the day he will be over the border, in the Republic of Ireland, where he will be staying until Friday.
BBC political editor Chris Mason calls Biden’s Irish trip a “blink and you’ll miss it visit” which “doesn’t actually add up to much … the president will be in Northern Ireland for only around 15 hours, half of which he’ll be in bed.” He’ll spend half a day in Belfast.
— Andrew Neil (@afneil) April 12, 2023
Even the meeting between Biden and Rishi Sunak this morning does not seem likely to much of an event. While Downing Street was describing it yesterday as a “bilateral”, the term for a proper leader-to-leader meeting, the White House was describing it as Biden and Sunak having a coffee together. No 10 rejected claims that meant it would be low-key.
Sam Coates at Sky News says Biden will use his speech today to suggest that Northern Ireland can benefit from investment – if the power-sharing institutions are restored. But, for reasons explained earlier (see 9.18am), he is likely to deliver that message in a way that avoids antagonising the DUP.
Here in Belfast, President Biden is expected to dangle investment cash - only if Stormont is up and running again
— Sam Coates Sky (@SamCoatesSky) April 12, 2023
The implied message to the DUP will be: get back into power sharing and the billions will flow. If not, your constituents miss out.
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DUP says it won’t be pressurised by Biden into resuming power sharing as he visits Belfast
Good morning. People in Northern Ireland are famed for being exceptionally friendly – except towards each other, the late Simon Hoggart used to joke. (He was a distinguished Belfast correspondent during the early years of the Troubles, before becoming the Guardian’s parliamentary sketchwriter.) But Joe Biden, who arrived in the city last night and who is giving a speech at lunchtime, has not been getting the warmest of welcomes by the main unionist party.
The visit is timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement. The US, and the president at the time, Bill Clinton, played a significant role in helping to facilitate that and ever since the White House has been regarded as a player that, from time to time, can have a positive influence on what is broadly described as “the peace process”.
But not so much today. Power sharing at Stormont has been on hold for more than a year, because the DUP is boycotting the assembly and the executive in protest at the Northern Ireland protocol. At one point there were hopes that Biden could help to nudge them back into government with Sinn Féin and the other parties but, in advance of Biden’s visit, leading DUP figures said publicly that would be counter-productive.
As the Daily Telegraph reports, Nigel Dodds, the DUP peer, said his party would take no notice of Biden because he was “pro-nationalist”. Dodds said:
Pressure from an American administration which is so transparently pro-nationalist constitutes no pressure on us at all.
Our decisions will be taken with the interests of Northern Ireland at the heart of our thinking. That’s not what the Americans are about, especially Joe Biden.
The DUP MP Ian Paisley told TalkTV that, although Biden was welcome to Northern Ireland, he was likely to cause embarrassment because “the poor fella is unfortunately quite gaffe prone”.
"The poor fella is unfortunately quite gaffe prone."@duponline's Ian Paisley Jr says he will have to wait and see if President Biden makes any "gaffes" during his time in Northern Ireland.@tnewtondunn pic.twitter.com/G0fwp1eNuV
— TalkTV (@TalkTV) April 11, 2023
And, as the Telegraph reports, the DUP MP Sammy Wilson said Biden was “anti-British”.
He’s anti-British. He is pro-republican and he has made his antipathy towards Protestants in particular very well known.
He has fully backed the EU in this whole protocol process. He’s refusing to come to the coronation. I don’t think any of us are rushing through the door to greet him.
As Archie Bland explains in his First Edition briefing about the visit, it is thought that the DUP is preparing to return to power sharing, but not until after the local elections in Northern Ireland in mid-May. If Biden were to be seen to be pressurising them, that might be counter-productive.
Here is the agenda for the day.
11.15am: Joe Biden meets Rishi Sunak in Belfast.
Morning: Keir Starmer is campaigning in Norfolk, where he will give TV interviews.
1pm: Biden gives a speech at Ulster University.
4pm: Liz Truss, the former PM, gives a speech to the Heritage Foundation thinktank in Washington.
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