Prime Minister Boris Johnson denied that Brexit cast a shadow over the G7 summit as the Cornwall event came to a close.
Asked at a press conference whether Brexit had created a “sour taste” at the summit, Mr Johnson said the “vast majority” of discussions had nothing to do with Britain’s exit from the EU.
“I can tell you that the vast, vast majority of the conversations that we have had over the last three or four days have been about other subjects and there has been a fantastic degree of harmony between the leaders of our countries,” he said.
One matter the prime minister said G7 leaders did agree on was the pledge to dedicate more than 1 billion coronavirus vaccines to poorer nations - although it falls far short of the 11 billion doses sought by the World Health Organization.
Earlier the Elysee Palace has rejected claims that Emmanuel Macron confused the constitutional status of Northern Ireland in a conversation with Boris Johnson at the G7 summit in Cornwall.
Reports today suggested that a mix-up on NI had sparked an outburst from Mr Johnson that EU leaders had to get the importance of the territorial integrity of the UK “into their heads”.
However, Mr Macron’s office has said the French leader had only pointed out that mainland Britain and Northern Ireland were on two different islands after Mr Johnson asked him whether he would accept a ban on movements of sausages between Toulouse and Paris.
As the summit came to an end, US president Joe Biden flew to Windsor for tea with the Queen and issued an invitation to the monarch to visit the White House.
