16:38
And, according to the Mirror’s Ben Glaze, HMS Prince of Wales is by no means the only naval vessel off Carbis Bay.
An OPV is an offshore patrol vessel.
16:26
Boris Johnson and Joe Biden will later sign a new “Atlantic Charter”. It is a deliberate imitation of the Atlantic Charter signed by Winston Churchill and Franklin D Roosevelt in 1941. The original one paved the way for the creation of the United Nations and the new world order after the second world war.
Churchill met Roosevelt in Newfoundland and he arrived there on HMS Prince of Wales. One of the navy’s new aircraft carriers has the same name, and it has been deployed to Cornwall, supposedly with the intention of forming the backdrop for today’s signing ceremony. But, as you can see from the picture, is is some way off in the background.
Updated
16:11
PA Media has filed on the pleasantries exchanged when Boris Johnson and Joe Biden posed for pictures at Carbis Bay with reporters and cameras in the room.
Biden said:
I told the prime minister we have something in common. We both married way above our stations.
And Johnson replied:
I’m not going to dissent on that one. I’m not going to disagree with you there or indeed on anything else, I think highly likely.
Given that Johnson got married less than a fortnight ago, Biden was bound to bring the topic up. But, with Johnson, raising the topic of marriage is potentially a risky move; presumably Biden was referring to Johnson’s new and third marriage – not the other two.
And when Johnson said they were not going to disagree on anything, he was being polite – but probably not entirely accurate (as is often the case).
Still, it was all less awkward than Tony Blair’s first on-camera encounter with George W Bush when Bush, also commenting on what they had in common, said they both used the same toothpaste. They were at Camp David, and Bush was referring to the standard toothpaste provided in visitor cabins, but reporters were totally mystified by the comment, and Blair was embarrassed by the mild homoerotic innuendo.
15:55
This is from Bloomberg’s Jennifer Jacobs.
Flotus is Jill Biden, the first lady. She is wearing a jacket with LOVE on the back.
15:45
Edwin Poots, the new DUP leader, has criticised Joe Biden for arguing that getting rid of the Northern Ireland protocol would put the Good Friday agreement at risk. Following reports that the US embassy put this case forcefully to Lord Frost, the Brexit minister, at a meeting, Poots said:
It would strike me that [the US position is] not well informed in that the imperilling of the peace has been as a consequence of the Protocol and because of the implementation of the Protocol.
We’ve seen riots on the streets in Northern Ireland which we hadn’t seen for many years and I think the president would do well to reflect on what the reality is.