Latest updates: minister suggests US might side with UK over the Northern Ireland protocol if issue is brought up at this week’s G7 summit
Stop Brexit ‘blame game’, Northern Ireland business leaders tell UK and EU
Coronavirus global updates – live
10.20am BST
Only 1% of deaths registered in England and Wales in the week ending Friday 28 May involved coronavirus, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.
There were 95 deaths where coronavirus was mentioned on the death certificate – out of 9,628 deaths in total. That is the lowest daily total since the first week of September.
10.06am BST
The dispute between the UK and the EU over the implementation of the Northern Ireland protocol will be thrashed out tomorrow at a meeting in London between Lord Frost, the Brexit minister, and Maroš Šefčovič, the European commission vice president.
It’s the first meeting of the joint partnership council, set up to oversee the implementation of the EU-UK trade deal, combined with a meeting of the joint committee, set up to oversee the operation of the Northern Ireland protocol.
The prolific English hymn composer Isaac Watts once said: “Learning to trust is one of life’s most difficult tasks.”
And yet it is also one of the most important tasks when it comes to building a productive, enduring and mutually beneficial partnership.
Mutually agreed compliance paths, with concrete deadlines and milestones for the UK to fulfil its existing obligations, would therefore be an important stepping stone – and, I believe, a credible outcome of this joint committee.
If this does not happen, and if the UK takes further unilateral action over the coming weeks, the EU will not be shy in reacting swiftly, firmly and resolutely to ensure that the UK abides by its international law obligations.