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A defensive Boris Johnson faced accusations that Brexit wars and his huge overseas aid cuts fatally undermined the G7 Summit, as the gathering was attacked as “a colossal failure”.
At a closing press conference, the prime minister trumpeted agreements on the climate emergency and vaccine donations to hail the three-day event – seen as crucial to the UK’s international standing – as a success.
Asked about a diplomatic spat with France, over the UK’s failure to implement the Northern Ireland protocol, Mr Johnson insisted it had not deflected from the agenda he had set out.
The “vast, vast majority of conversations” had been about “other subjects”, he insisted, claiming: “There has been a fantastic degree of harmony between the leaders of our countries.”
But the G7 fell short of a target to gift poorer countries 1 billion jabs – itself only a fraction of the 11 billion the World Health Organisation says is needed.
And no new commitments were made to meet the promise – made 11 years ago – for rich nations to spend £100bn a year to help the developing world adapt to global heating.
Mr Johnson was asked if his £4bn-a-year overseas aid cuts had left him “without the moral authority” to secure those gains, but said: “Obviously, I reject that outright.”
The cuts had “not been raised by any other international leader, let alone the leader of a recipient country”, he insisted.
But Max Lawson, from Oxfam, said: “This G7 Summit will live on in infamy. Faced with the biggest health emergency in a century and a climate catastrophe that is destroying our planet, they have completely failed to meet the challenges of our times.
“The G7 have chosen to cook the books on vaccines and continue to cook the planet. We don’t need to wait for history to judge this summit a colossal failure, it is plain for all to see.”
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