Cabinet minister implies Joe Biden does not fully understand ‘complicated’ Northern Ireland issue – politics live |

Good morning. Yesterday Joe Biden told Boris Johnson at the White House about his concerns that the UK’s stance on the Northern Ireland protocol could undermine the Good Friday agreement. It is a concern shared by Democrats and Republicans in Washington, and one that has been expressed many times. Johnson told Biden diplomatically that he too wanted to protect the Good Friday agreement. But in an interview this morning George Eustice, the environment secretary, said that Biden was “wrong” about this, and he implied the US president did not understand the issue.

Eustice told Sky News:

[Biden] is probably at the moment just reading the headlines, reading what the EU is saying, reading what Ireland might be saying, which is that they would like the Northern Ireland protocol to work in the way the EU envisage.

We think he is wrong because the truth is that unless we have a sustainable solution that enables trade to continue between GB and Northern Ireland then we are going to have issues, and that itself would become a challenge to the Belfast agreement.

We will obviously explain to the United States effectively it is tantamount to saying that potatoes grown in one part of the United States can’t be sold in another part of the United States.

When you explain some of those provisions in detail, it is understood by the US government that that clearly does not make any sense and therefore should be revisited.

Eustice also said it was “very complicated”, adding: “I’m not sure he does fully appreciate all of that”.

Eustice was just saying what cabinet ministers think. But it is unusual for any of them to be so blunt (and patronising) about the US president in public.

As my colleague Rowena Mason reports, in his interviews this morning Eustice also said the bailout of the private US firm that supplies carbon dioxide to the food industry will run into “many millions of pounds”.

Here is the agenda for the day.

9.30am: Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, gives evidence to the Commons transport committee.

9.30am: Matthew Roycroft, permanent secretary at the Home Office, gives evidence to the Commons home affairs committee.

10.30am: Ofgem, Energy UK and National Energy Action give evidence to the Commons business committee about the UK gas market. At 11.30am Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, gives evidence.

12pm: Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, faces Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, at PMQs.

Lunchtime (UK time): Boris Johnson is due to give media interviews in the US.

2pm: Prof Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, Prof Jonathan Van-Tam, his deputy, and Prof Wei Shen Lim, chair of the JCVI’s Covid sub-committee, give evidence to the Commons education committee about vaccinating children.

Later Johnson will be addressing the UN general assembly in New York, but his speech is not expected until about 9pm UK time.

For the latest Covid developments, do read our global live blog.

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