Downing Street plays down reports of UK-US split over Ukraine Nato membership after Sunak-Biden meeting – UK politics live

John Kerry has said that King Charles was “way ahead of the curve on a lot of this” referring to the climate crisis – as is Joe Biden with his climate bill.

The US special presidential envoy for climate, who made the comments in an interview broadcast by Sky News, took part in Windsor’s “long walk”.

He told the BBC that the meeting with the king had gone well and praised his 60 years of campaigning.

After an extended runway chat at Stansted with Jane Hartley, the US ambassador to the UK, Biden embarked on Air Force One to set off for tomorrow’s Nato summit in Lithuania.

Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak agreed to ensure Sweden’s Nato accession and safely develop AI, as well as support Ukraine and progress UK-US economic partnership, Downing Street has said.

Tweeting after their garden meeting in Downing Street this morning, No 10 said:

The prime minister also shared a message from Biden written in the Downing Street visitor book that read: “May our two great nations always [underlined] stay together as we defend our shared values and build a better and better future for the world.”

Ministers are offering rebel Conservative MPs concessions on key asylum legislation amid growing concern it could face defeats in the Commons.

The government is expected to limit plans to detain children and pregnant women who arrive in the UK by small boats and drop some of the retrospective applications of the illegal migration bill’s measures, the Guardian understands.

It remains unclear whether compromises will be offered to protect victims of modern slavery, as demanded by MPs including Theresa May.

The bill, which is meant to fulfil Rishi Sunak’s promise to “stop the boats”, will complete its final stage in the House of Lords with a vote on Monday night. The draft legislation returns to the House of Commons on Tuesday for MPs to consider the 20 amendments made to it by peers.

The government was expected to offer a concession to Conservative MPs opposed to the bill’s powers to detain unaccompanied children, sources confirmed. Another would also limit the time period for locking up pregnant women who cross the Channel, it is understood.

Amendments will be released by the government at 4.30pm on Monday. After MPs vote on the bill on Tuesday, it will be passed back to the Lords to decide whether the upper chamber will once again amend the bill in a process known as “ping-pong”.

Ministers are seeking to ensure that the illegal migration bill will enable the detention of asylum seekers who arrive via irregular means and their deportation to a third country such as Rwanda.

London Underground drivers are to strike in a long-running dispute over pensions and conditions. Aslef said its members would take action on 26 July and 28, coinciding with industrial action by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union.

It will coincide with members of the RMT union also taking “rolling action” between Sunday 23 July and Friday 28 July. The RMT said there would be no strike on Monday 24, with staff in different sections and grades halting work on different shifts on each of the other days.

Finn Brennan, Aslef’s full-time organiser on London Underground, said: “We take action only when needed. Unfortunately, the last few weeks have shown that London Underground management are determined to try to push through detrimental changes, despite trade union opposition.”

At the Unite conference in Brighton, delegates debated whether the trade union – one of Britains’s biggest – should sever ties with Labour. Any such move would put a serious dent in Labour’s finances and could set the union on a path to donating money to other parties or candidates.

Delegates “overwhelmingly” chose to retain Unite’s formal link with Labour, Aubrey Allegretti reports, but the general secretary, Sharon Graham, said Keir Starmer had been put “on notice” and she warned that the union’s support should not be taken for granted.

“Labour must be Labour and the union must push them into that position,” she said. “We must make them take different choices. We will not make the same mistakes of the past. There will be no blank cheques for Labour until we see tangible results.”

However, she added: “This is the moment of maximum leverage for the union where we can hold Labour to account. Now cannot be the time to walk away. We would be weakening our own arm.

“It would be the worst time to leave the Labour party when they are in touching distance of power. If we leave we wouldn’t influence that power.”

A few more details from this morning’s Downing Street meeting between Rishi Sunak and Joe Biden.

Also among the issues discussed (see also 12.46pm) were:

• The US decision to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions

• US secretary of state Antony Blinken and British foreign secretary James Cleverly also attended the meeting, which lasted around 40 minutes

• The UK’s commitments under an international convention not to produce or use cluster munitions and to discourage their use. The prime minister’s spokesperson said they “discussed the requirements the prime minister is under because of this convention, and the UK is upholding that”

David Lammy, the shadow home secretary, has accused the government of giving Russia and China “ammunition” to defend breaking international law.

The MP for Tottenham said a future Labour government would commit to restoring the duty for ministers to comply with international law after the obligation was removed by the Conservatives under David Cameron.

A Labour-run government would have an “unwavering respect for the rule of law both in domestic law and international law” he said, during a speech to the Bingham Centre of International Law today.

As prime minister, Boris Johnson threatened to rewrite Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trade arrangements without agreement from the EU. The nationality and borders act, meanwhile, has attracted widespread condemnation by lawyers and UN officials. The illegal migration bill has also been heavily criticised.

Lammy said:

We consistently proclaim the importance of complying with international law to other nations.
We tell Iran to comply with the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action). We tell China to comply with the Sino-British Joint Declaration in Hong Kong.
We are right to do so. Agreements must be kept.
Yet our ability to protect and promote international law has been fundamentally undermined by the dangerous attitude of the present government. It has weakened our foreign policy while strengthening that of our rivals.
It has provided ammunition to countries such as Russia and China, who use allegations of hypocrisy as a tool in the UN.

He added:

Labour’s vision for foreign policy is to reconnect Britain for our security and prosperity at home.
We believe in Britain but we are frustrated by the Conservative-manufactured decline in our influence.
We can restore Britain’s standing and realise our potential by using the international rule of law as the connective tissue which binds us to other nations.

Rishi Sunak is not expected to attend a Commons debate today about the privileges committee report that criticised the conduct of Boris Johnson’s allies.

The prime minister’s official spokesperson said

I am not aware that it has been confirmed that there will be a vote.

The PM is due to fly to Vilnius in Lithuania later today ahead of tomorrow’s critical Nato summit.

Downing Street has said the number of people crossing the Channel is “too large” after more than 1,000 migrants crossed in the last three days.

Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson said:

I think we always knew that, as we move into the summer months, crossings will escalate. We are continuing to stop significant numbers of crossings.
I still believe that you are more likely to be stopped and turned back than to make the crossing, and that’s because of the work with our French counterparts and the extra support that we have put in.
But clearly the numbers making the journeys are still too large and that’s why we need the other elements of our ‘stop the boats’ package.

The package mentioned includes the Rwanda deal, which is subject to a legal battle headed for the supreme court, and the illegal migration bill, which came under heavy criticism in the House of Lords.

The government has said it has handed over “all requisite material” to the Covid-19 inquiry after losing a high court bid to block a request for Boris Johnson’s unredacted WhatsApp messages.

Last week’s legal defeat came with a new cabinet office deadline to hand over the former prime minister’s messages, notebooks and diaries in full by 4pm today.

The prime minister’s spokesperson said: “All requisite material has been handed over.”

A few images of Biden’s arrival at Windsor:

After Joe Biden’s visit to Downing Street this morning, the prime minister’s spokesperson has tried to play down reports that the UK and US are split over Ukraine’s hopes to join Nato.

The subject would be a discussion point at this week’s Nato summit in Lithuania.

The spokesperson said:

Certainly, we do want to support Ukraine on the pathway to joining the alliance, the exact mechanisms for that are for discussion with Nato allies.

Rejecting suggestions that the two countries’ positions on the issue differed, the spokesperson said:

I have seen that reporting but I don’t believe that’s accurate.

Biden touches down at Windsor castle to meet the King for first time since coronation.

After warmly greeting the king, Biden listened to the US national anthem before inspecting the guard of honour.

Followed by the king, he looked the soldiers in the eyes and appeared solemn before the two men disappeared inside for tea and a conversation with philanthropic leaders on climate.

Back to Windsor, where the king and Biden shake hands, Biden placing one arm behind the king’s back, before listening to a performance of the US national anthem.

During his meeting with Rishi Sunak, Joe Biden said he “couldn’t be meeting with a closer friend and greater ally”.

Despite clashes over Ukraine’s Nato membership and cluster munitions, he said the UK-US relationship was “rock solid”, reports the BBC.

Sunak said it was “great for us to carry on our conversation” and that the leaders would think about how to strengthen cooperation and joint economic security

Biden has touched down at Windsor castle for his first meeting with king since his coronation. The king has taken his position to welcome the president.