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Friday evening UK news briefing: Boris Johnson signals aim to 'build back more equal' at G7 summit 

Also from this evening's Front Page newsletter: Fully vaccinated people make up five per cent of Delta variant infections. Sign up below

Boris Johnson said the G7 must learn from the mistakes of the pandemic as he predicted the leading economies would "bounce back" from the Covid-19 recession.

Today the leaders were photographed together on the beach in Carbis Bay, Cornwall, before Mr Johnson kicked off the summit saying there is potential to "build back more equal and in a more gender neutral and feminine way" after the pandemic.

It came as a former senior White House official has said the EU is making a "mountain out of a molehill" over the Brexit trade deal, and making US figures more sympathetic to Brexit.

The best laid plans of President Joe Biden went awry after his £1.2m Cadillac, known as The Beast, was out-foxed by the narrow roads to the summit venue.

Meanwhile, seven people were arrested after two vehicles travelling near the summit were found to contain paint, smoke grenades and loud hailers, police said.

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Earlier, the Duchess of Cambridge and Jill Biden joined forces to visit a primary school where they met reception children and their resident rescue rabbits and chickens.

The Duchess's long term work on early childhood was given a powerful seal of approval from America's First Lady as the two women briefly took the focus away from politics. 

Rozina Sabur reveals how the G7 is putting Dr Biden's 'soft power' in the spotlight.

It also emerged the Duchess has not yet been introduced to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's newborn daughter Lilibet.

Fully vaccinated people behind only 5pc of Delta cases

Cases of the Indian variant of Covid-19, now renamed Delta, are doubling every 4.5 days in parts of England, new data suggest. Public Health England (PHE) said that confirmed cases of the variant in the UK have risen by 30,000 in a week. Meanwhile, England's estimated "R" number has risen from 1.0-1.2 last week to between 1.2 and 1.4. However, the PHE briefing also showed that the disease is predominantly affecting people who have yet to receive the vaccine. Science Editor Sarah Knapton has delved into the data, which show just five per cent of Delta infections are in people who have been fully vaccinated. It will be announced on Monday whether England will unlock on June 21. Here is what we know.

Euro 2020 is here - and Scotland will take the knee

The wait is over. Euro 2020 begins a year later than planned tonight as Turkey take on Italy at 8pm. You can follow updates here but the tournament is being overshadowed by the debate over England taking the knee. Scotland have had a partial rethink, with players set to take the knee in solidarity with their England counterparts when they play at Wembley next Friday. Wales kick off the tournament for the Home Nations tomorrow against Switzerland. Sam Dean analyses whether Gareth Bale can rise to the occasion for one last time. Ahead of England's opener on Sunday, Ally McCoist examines the genius of Harry Kane in his first Telegraph column and reveals why he is the complete striker. Yet Jamie Carragher reckons England need a reality check.

At a glance: Coronavirus evening briefing

Also in the news: Today's other headlines

Assisted dying campaigner dies | Noel Conway, an advocate for the right-to-die who had motor neurone disease, has died aged 71 after making the decision to remove his ventilator. Conway died at his home in Shropshire and had become dependent on the ventilator in order to breathe. Read more on how the retired college lecturer had brought a High Court challenge against the law on assisted dying in 2017.

Around the world: Fury over NZ mosque massacre film

An "inspirational" film about Jacinda Ardern's reaction to the massacre at Christchurch mosque has been criticised as insensitive and the filmmakers accused of overlooking the Muslim victims. The film takes its name "They Are Us" from a line from a speech given by Ms Ardern, the New Zealand prime minister, and is to star Australian actress Rose Byrne. Read how Ms Ardern has distanced herself from the project.

Friday big-read

The GB News team
The GB News team

GB News launch: meet the presenters of the new TV channel

 

Ahead of its launch on Sunday, meet the hosts of the GB News channel, from the veteran political journalist to the controversial gossip columnist and former Labour MP

Read the full feature

Comment and analysis

Editor's choice

  1. Sally Solves | 'A crook stole my Mercedes but my insurer won't cough up to replace it'
  2. Robust language | Is it bad for children to hear swear words? Not according to science
  3. Sexual bullying in schools | How porn has taken over our playgrounds

Business and money briefing

Newspaper losses | The value of the Sun titles owned by Rupert Murdoch has been slashed to zero following a sales slump due to the Covid crisis and costs associated with the phone hacking scandal.

Sport briefing

England vs New Zealand | The tourists have made a solid reply after England were all out for 303. Follow the latest from the second Test.

Three things for tonight

And finally... for this evening's downtime

Glass of red? | With most of the UK now finally basking in warm sunshine, it is no surprise that boozy picnics, barbecues and drinks after work are back on the agenda. Yet while we are all familiar with the negative effect alcohol has on our liver, Lauren Libbert reveals what drinking can do to your midlife gut health.

If you want to receive twice-daily briefings like this by email, sign up to the Front Page newsletter here. For two-minute audio updates, try The Briefing - on podcasts, smart speakers and WhatsApp.
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