Boris Johnson urges G7 leaders to be ‘more feminine’

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Boris Johnson today urged G7 leaders to aim for a more ‘feminine’ and ‘gender neutral’ recovery from coronavirus in a bizarre opening speech.

Officially kicking off the summit in Carbis Bay, the PM appealed for them to ‘level up’ and not repeat the mistakes of the aftermath of the credit crunch when ‘inequality’ increased.

But he sparked bewilderment as he expanded on his vision for the qualities the world should be encouraging following the havoc wreaked by the devastating disease.    

As the leaders – including US president Joe Biden – sat around a table before the first session, Mr Johnson told them they need to ‘build back better’ and be ‘united in our vision for a cleaner, greener world’.

‘I think that is what the people of our countries now want us to focus on. They want us to be sure that we are beating the pandemic together and discussing how we will never have a repeat of what we have seen but also that we are building back better together,’ he said.

‘Building back greener and building back fairer and building back more equal and, how shall I, in a more gender neutral and, perhaps a more feminine way.

‘How about that, apart from anything else. So those are some of the objectives that we have before us at Carbis Bay.’ 

The comments came after the PM finally came off the fence after days of dodging over whether the England football team should be ‘taking the knee’ – with No10 saying that he backs ‘peaceful protest’ and wants fans to get behind the team. It marked an effective slapdown for skills minister Gillian Keegan, who had slammed the gesture, linked to the BLM movement, for ‘creating new divisions’. 

It marks a significant shift for the government, which has seemed keen to take aim at the so-called ‘woke’ agenda, triggering claims that they are waging cultural wars.

But it will also spark alarm among Tory MPs, many of whom are deeply suspicious of a BLM movement they regard as hard-Left and anti-police. 

Before going into the private discussions that he described as a ‘fireside chat’ for the world’s most powerful countries, Mr Johnson told the group how pleased he was they could all meet in person for the first time since the crisis erupted.

‘I actually think this is a meeting that genuinely needs to happen because we need to make sure that we learn the lessons from the pandemic, we need to make sure that we don’t repeat some of the errors that we doubtless made in the course of the last 18 months or so and we need to make sure that we now allow our economies to recover,’ he said.

‘I think that they have the potential to bounce back very strongly and there is all sorts of reasons for being optimistic.

‘But it is vital that we don’t repeat the mistake of the last great crisis, the last great economic recession in 2008, when the recovery was not uniform across all parts of society and I think what has gone wrong with this pandemic, or what risks being a lasting scar, is that I think the inequalities may be entrenched.

‘We need to make sure that as we recover we level up across our societies and we build back better.’ 

Earlier, the PM and Carrie – believed to be a major influence on his green agenda – were all smiles as they formally greeted G7 leaders on the golden sands of Carbis Bay.

The PM and his new wife, wearing a vivid fuchsia dress, welcomed the guests to the official start of the summit one by one on a beachfront board walk. 

Mr Johnson, who notoriously boasted he was still shaking hands with everyone in the early stages of the pandemic, appeared to remind himself not to get too close, saying ‘Elbows!’  

Joe Biden was accompanied by wife Jill, while Angela Merkel was with her husband, but Justin Trudeau and Mario Draghi of Italy arrived alone. A grinning Emmanuel Macron strolled up alongside Brigitte, with Mr Johnson warmly referring to him as ‘Emmanuel’ despite the French president stoking the Northern Ireland row by vowing to veto an overhaul of the protocol.

Mr Biden made a quip urging people to go swimming, saying ‘everyone in the water’- with Mr Johnson joking in response that he had already been in.  

Jill Biden laughed: ‘I feel like we are at a wedding’. Later Mr Johnson joked that it was like ‘walking down the aisle.’   

The leaders then posed for the traditional family photograph – again socially distanced – before heading inside for the first summit session.

But there was time for one more move from Mr Macron. As Mr Johnson led the way at the urging of Mrs Merkel, the French President took the opportunity to throw his arm around Mr Biden’s shoulders and begin an animated discussion.  

In a shift from last week when Downing Street dodged over whether it disapproved of booing by fans, the PM called for the players’ actions in taking the knee to be respected today.

Asked to give a categorical answer on whether Mr Johnson supported the England team’s stance, the premier’s official spokesman said: ‘Yes. The Prime Minister respects the rights of all people to peacefully protest and make their feeling known about injustices.’

The spokesman added: ‘I think the Prime Minister has spoken before about his desire for everybody to get behind the national team and as I said, the PM would like to see everyone getting behind the team to cheer them on, not boo.’

Scotland’s football team this afternoon reversed their decision to refused to take the knee and will now join England in the act at Wembley.

Manager Steve Clarke and captain Andy Robertson had said on Thursday that they would continue to take a stand against racism – as they have done since March – rather than kneeling before matches, a symbol they believe has become ‘diluted’.

But Robertson has revealed that the recent booing of England’s players before matches has caused a rethink among their squad.

He said: ‘For this reason, we have collectively decided to again take the knee as a team for the fixture against England at Wembley Stadium.

‘The Scotland team stands against racism but we will kneel against ignorance and in solidarity on June 18.’

Tories have voiced fury at the obstructive stance from Mr Macron and demanded ‘pragmatism’ on the Brexit arrangements amid fears the trade rules are fuelling sectarian tensions in the province. 

Ramping up the so-called ‘sausage war’, the French president said it was ‘not serious’ to want to change the arrangements so quickly.

‘I think it’s not serious to want to review in June what we finalised after years of debate and work in December,’ he said,  adding that he will discuss the situation with Mr Johnson during a bilateral meeting at the G7 summit today.

But Mr Johnson sounded defiance today, boosted by Mr Biden seemingly backing off a confrontation in their talks, insisting the trade rules are ‘excessively burdensome’.

And Tory MP David Jones told MailOnline: ‘It is posturing. He’s actually been posturing for quite a long time.

‘He’s in a very precarious position domestically and quite clearly he is attempting to show toughness as a way of boosting his chances in the approach to the presidential election.

‘Given that the UK and the US both agree that pragmatism is necessary, I would imagine that the EU will pay attention and, if so, he is going to be out of step with the rest of the bloc.’  

The row over the Northern Ireland Protocol have been threatening to overshadow the G7 gathering at Carbis Bay.

Mr Biden and Mr Johnson insisted they were in ‘complete harmony’ last night as they tried to sweep away explosive claims of an eve-of-summit diplomatic row. 

After their first face-to-face talks, the Prime Minister said he and President Biden shared ‘common ground’ over maintaining Ulster peace and the Good Friday Agreement.

Brussels is threatening to retaliate if Britain takes unilateral action to continue the flow of British-produced chilled meats to Northern Ireland when a grace period ends this month.

Britain accused the EU of adopting a ‘purist’ approach to the Brexit withdrawal deal in Northern Ireland amid warnings that sales of sausages from the rest of the UK could be blocked. 

Mr Johnson, who will hold talks with EU leaders over the course of the G7 summit, told the BBC: ‘You will understand that there are ways of enforcing the protocol, ways of making it work, that may be excessively burdensome.

‘I just give you one statistic: 20% of the checks conducted across the whole of the perimeter of the EU are now done in Northern Ireland, three times as many as happen in Rotterdam.’

The new post-Brexit arrangements came into effect on January 1 and the dispute is still simmering, but Mr Johnson insisted ‘I think we can sort it out’.

Downing Street has been urging Brussels to show ‘common sense and pragmatism’.

The appeal came after European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic said the EU would act ‘swiftly, firmly and resolutely’ if the UK tried to backtrack on its obligations under the deal.

It came amid reports Britain is ready to act unilaterally to delay imposition of checks on chilled meats such as sausages and chicken nuggets coming to Northern Ireland from Great Britain when the current ‘grace period’ expires at the end of June.

While the Prime Minister’s official spokesman refused to be drawn on what steps the Government would take if there was no agreement by that point, he insisted there was no justification for barring chilled meats from Northern Irish shops.

‘Any ban would be contrary to the aims of the protocol and the interests of the people of Northern Ireland,’ the spokesman said.

‘The protocol was a compromise. We didn’t expect the EU to take a purist approach when implementing it. We are working very hard to try to resolve these issues consensually.

‘The Prime Minister has always made clear we will consider all our options in meeting our responsibility to sustain peace and prosperity in Northern Ireland.

‘We hope that the EU will show the common sense and pragmatism needed to make progress.’

His comments came after Environment Secretary George Eustice dismissed the idea of controls on the movement of chilled meats between the rest of the UK and Northern Ireland as ‘bonkers’.

‘I think that’s a nonsense. I think we’ve got a very good sausage industry in this country, we’ve got the highest standards of food hygiene in the world,’ he told LBC.

Earlier, Mr Sefcovic raised the prospect of a trade war – with Brussels imposing tariffs and quotas on British exports – if the UK failed to meet its international obligations under the the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The deal – intended to ensure there is no return to a hard border with the Republic – means that Northern Ireland remains part of the EU single market, which in turn requires checks on some goods coming from Great Britain.

But Mr Sefcovic – who will hold talks with Brexit minister Lord Frost on Wednesday – said there had been ‘numerous and fundamental gaps’ in the UK’s implementation of the agreement.

Writing in The Daily Telegraph, he said that if Britain took further unilateral actions the EU ‘will not be shy in reacting swiftly, firmly and resolutely to ensure that the UK abides by its international law obligations’.

Asked yesterday if the President had made his alarm about the situation with the Northern Ireland Protocol clear, Mr Johnson said simply: ‘No, he didn’t.’

He added: ‘What I can say is that America – the United States, Washington – the UK, plus the European Union, have one thing we absolutely all want to do and that is to uphold the Belfast Good Friday Agreement and make sure we keep the balance of the peace process going. That’s absolutely common ground and I’m optimistic that we can do that.’

Meanwhile, a senior US administration official also tried to play down the row yesterday, insisting that the President had not come ‘to give a lecture’ on the issue.

‘The US is not in those negotiations and not seeking to be in those negotiations,’ the official said. 

‘We are instead a strong and vigorous supporter of practical, creative, flexible, results-oriented negotiations that, at the end of the day, produce a result that protects all of the gains that the people of Northern Ireland have made.

‘It will not be confrontational or adversarial or… he didn’t come here to give a lecture. He came merely to communicate what he believes very, very deeply about peace in Northern Ireland.’

It was alleged yesterday that Mr Biden had ordered officials to issue a rare diplomatic rebuke to the UK only last week over its continued opposition to the full implementation of the Protocol. 

It was reported that Yael Lempert, America’s most senior diplomat in Britain, had told Lord Frost, the Brexit minister, that the Government was ‘inflaming’ tensions with its opposition to checks at Northern Irish ports.

Minutes of the meeting on June 3 were said to have revealed that Lord Frost was told of Mr Biden’s ‘great concern’ over his stance.

It was said to have resulted in a ‘demarche’ – a formal diplomatic communication or protest.

The disclosure of Mr Biden’s apparent protest sparked anger in some quarters yesterday, with new DUP leader Edwin Poots saying that the President’s alleged intervention was ‘not well informed’.

He accused America of potentially ‘ignoring’ problems with the Protocol. Mr Poots warned BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘America may be prepared to drive a coach and horses through the Good Friday Agreement.’

A Whitehall source played down the significance of the demarche, saying it was ‘not uncommon’ for allies to voice their disagreements in diplomatic notes.

There was irritation at the leaking of the note, with some suspecting it was done by anti-Brexit officials to damage the Government.

Brexiteer MP Peter Bone said: ‘If he is just urging a resolution of the dispute, that’s fine – we want a resolution. But he should not be taking the EU’s side.’

Pro-Remain Tory MP Tom Tugendhat said: ‘I’m surprised that the President decided to enter this debate so publicly at a very sensitive time for all parties.’

But Irish premier Micheal Martin said Mr Biden’s rebuke was a call to do the ‘sensible thing’ and resolve trade issues with the EU.