Rishi Sunak – live: PM insists small boats policy going ‘better than expected’ days after new crossing record

Friday saw record numbers of crossings for this year - with 686 arriving on UK shores

Rishi Sunak welcomes Joe Biden to Downing Street

Rishi Sunak has insisted his crackdown on small boats is going “much better” than expected, despite record numbers of boat crossings.

Speaking to reporters on his way to the Nato summit in Lithuania, the prime minister denied he was wrong to claim his small boats policy was working last month.

It comes after Friday saw record numbers of crossings for this year - with 686 arriving on UK shores.

The prime minister said he had always predicted that the numbers coming to Britain would rise during the summer.

He said his policy had to be judged on the trends when he took office.

“The fact that they (numbers) are down for five months of the year, the fact that they are still down, even if it’s less, than what people are expecting is a much better result than anyone was expecting,” he said.

He added: “We need to get people out of hotels, we need to save the taxpayer billions. We need to get the backlog down. But fundamentally we need to do what it compassionate and fair.”

Key points

• Sunak claims small boats crackdown going ‘much better than expected’ – despite upturn in crossings
• PM heads to Nato summit to urge allies to hike defence spending
• Biden meets Lithuanian President Gitanas ahead of Nato summit

[12 July 2023 20:11 · Oliver O'Connell]

Air Force One approaches Helsinki

[12 July 2023 20:20 · Oliver O'Connell]

Voices: Don’t be annoyed at Biden breaking royal protocol - or how other Americans act abroad

Skylar Baker-Jordan writes:

No protocol was broken, and even if it was, this is not a big deal. What happened is perfectly fine. Everybody calm down.

Read on:

[12 July 2023 20:25 · Oliver O'Connell]

Wheels down in Helsinki

[12 July 2023 20:50 · Oliver O'Connell]

Biden: Nato stronger, more energised, more united than ever

[12 July 2023 21:02 · Oliver O'Connell]

Readout of President Joe Biden’s Meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine

President Joe Biden met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine in Vilnius on July 12, 2023. President Biden emphasized the enduring U.S. commitment to supporting Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s war of aggression and U.S. support for Ukraine as it pursues integration into the Euro-Atlantic community. The leaders welcomed the launch of the Declaration of Support for Ukraine by G7 Leaders and President Zelenskyy immediately prior to their meeting, and discussed US readiness to begin negotiations with Ukraine on bilateral security commitments to ensure a sustainable force capable of defending Ukraine now and in the future. The leaders also discussed Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive and continued U.S. assistance to support this effort.

[12 July 2023 21:20 · Oliver O'Connell]

Full story: Biden hails ‘unbroken’ Ukrainian people in Nato speech to spirited crowd of 10,000 — with lone Trump fan

President Joe Biden on Wednesday hailed the “unbroken” people of Ukraine and the “incredible dignity” with which they’ve acted to repel Russia’s invading forces as he pledged on behalf of the Western world to maintain support for Kyiv’s defence for as long as necessary.

Mr Biden delivered his remarks to a boisterous crowd who’d gathered hours ahead of time to hear him speak in the Great Court at Vilnius University, following the conclusion of this year’s Nato leaders’ summit, at which leaders of the 31-member defence alliance agreed to expedite Ukraine’s bid for membership in the bloc once the war with Russia has been brought to a close.

Andrew Feinberg watched the president’s remarks.

[12 July 2023 21:50 · Oliver O'Connell]

Watch: State Department defends Biden sending cluster munitions to Ukraine

[12 July 2023 22:20 · Oliver O'Connell]

Italian PM to visit White House

Statement from White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on the Visit of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy President Biden will welcome Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy to the White House on July 27 to reaffirm the strong relationship between the United States and Italy. They will discuss our common strategic interests, including our shared commitment to continue supporting Ukraine in the face of Russia’s aggression, developments in North Africa, and closer transatlantic coordination regarding the People’s Republic of China. They will also discuss Italy’s upcoming presidency of the G7 in 2024.

[12 July 2023 22:50 · Oliver O'Connell]

Biden wants voters to notice inflation is down

The politics of inflation took a sharp turn Wednesday with a report showing consumer prices rose at the slowest pace since the early months of Joe Biden’s presidency.

Republicans have hammered Biden over the cost of groceries, gasoline, utilities and more, saying his $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package and push for electric vehicles were responsible for pushing inflation to a four-decade high. The GOP argument has resonated with voters, but the report on consumer prices for June suggests that inflation has eased dramatically without any of the job losses that some economists and Republican leaders said would occur.

Read more...

[12 July 2023 23:20 · Oliver O'Connell]

As inflation rises by only 0.2%, White House cheers Bidenomics

President Joe Biden hailed that inflation ticked up only 0.2 per cent in June and had its lowest 12-month increase in more than a year on Wednesday.

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers showed that inflation rose 0.2 per cent last month after it had only ticked up 0.1 per cent in May, in a sign that inflation is easing up. Meanwhile, the all-items index rose 3 per cent for the past twelve months ending in June, its lowest 12-month increase since March of 2021.

“Good jobs and lower costs: That’s Bidenomics in action,” Mr Biden said in a statement.