Northern Ireland’s political leaders have been weighing in on Brexit’s Irish Sea border in the aftermath of a meeting between the UK’s Lord Frost and the EU’s Maros Sefcovic – and ahead of the G7 summit in Cornwall.

Edwin Poots, the DUP’s new leader, says it is “now time for action”, adding that the protol must be scrapped.

He added that Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal has been a disaster both politically and economically.

Meanwhile Michelle O’Neill, Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister, has called on the UK government to “honour its commitments” on the protocol

She said she felt negotiations are at a “crossroads”. Some progress had been made in some areas during the meeting, including on the supply of medicines from Great Britain, but there was “still a way to go” on other sticking points.

The US president will tell the UK and the EU not to “imperil” peace in Northern Ireland amid a post-Brexit trade dispute.

Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jack Sullivan said the president had “very deep” concerns about the current situation in Northern Ireland.

He added that Mr Biden will send the message – when he appears at the G7 summit – that both sides must “fundamentally protect” the Good Friday Agreement.

Mr Sullivan refused to say whether a transatlantic trade deal could be scuppered if the UK fails to improve the problems in the Northern Ireland.

Priti Patel has said police should cut crime by “zapping the really bad people out there”.

Her turn of phrase comes during a trial of a police officer accused of murdering an ex-professional footballer with a Taser and excessive force in 2016.

Talking to the Police Federation, the home secretary said: “As we come out of the crisis, as we come back to living our lives, we know we’ve got new challenges.

“Cutting crime, going out there and actually zapping the really bad people out there, the criminals that perpetrate high harms.”

Our home affairs correspondent Lizzie Dearden reports:

Joe Biden has said the US and Europe will present a united front at the upcoming G7 conference, and will announce a worldwide vaccine strategy.

The US president is due to land at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk at 8pm tonight, ahead of the start of the summit later this week.

Dominic Cummings has been told that his explosive claims against Matt Hancock will be “unsubstantiated” unless he provides evidence to back them up.

Appearing before MPs last month, Boris Johnson’s former aide said the health secretary was dishonest and should have been fired on up to 20 occasions.

Greg Clark and Jeremy Hunt, who chair the Health and Social Care and Science and Technology Committees, wrote to Mr Cummings after the deadline for submitting evidence elapsed on 4 June.

They acknowledged that “providing documentary evidence of these conversations may not be possible”.

“However, we are sure you understand that without further evidence we have to consider these allegations as unsubstantiated,” they added.

Ministers made policing “even harder” during the pandemic through unclear and ever-changing laws, the chair of the Police Federation has said.

John Apter, whose organisation represents officers in England and Wales, said: “For the past 15 months we have been required to police in a way that none of us ever expected to when we joined the job.

“We knew it was never going to be easy. But our job was made even harder by the ever changing rules and regulations.”

He added that police officers were often sent out on patrol several hours after new regulations, which “were not always crystal clear”, were imposed.

A coalition of MPs, including Labour’s John McDonnell, unions, and environmental campaigners are demanding the government ensure a shorter working week is discussed at the UN climate summit hosted by the UK.

In a letter to Alok Sharma, who was appointed earlier this year by Boris Johnson as Cop 26 president, the signatories urge consideration of the “benefits that a shorter working week could offer in the race to limit the worst effects of climate change”.

It comes as the government prepares to host the crucial climate conference in November, with world leaders being asked to come forward with “ambitious 2030 emissions reductions targets” that align with UK’s legally-binding target of net zero by the middle of the century.

The letter highlights a recent report by Platform London— commissioned by the 4 Day Week campaign — which suggested last month the introduction of a four-day working week with no loss of pay would aid efforts in reducing Britain’s carbon footprint, with a possible reduction of 127 million tonnes per year by 2025.

Read Ashley Cowburn’s exclusive here:

The EU has said its patience with the UK is “wearing thin” and has threatened to “suspend” parts of the Brexit trade agreement unless London complies with the Northern Ireland protocol.

Speaking after failed Brexit talks on Wednesday, Maroš Šefčovič, the EU commission vice-president, said Brussels could slap tariffs on UK exports and even “suspend cooperation in certain sectors”, pointing to deals on trade and services.

Rob Merrick has this breaking story:

The UK and the EU have finished their “frank and honest” Brexit discussion on Wednesday without striking an overall agreement.

Kate Devlin has more details about what happened:

Boris Johnson has weighed in on the “culture wars” battle over the removal of a portrait of the Queen from an Oxford students’ common room by sending out a message that he “supports” education secretary Gavin Williamson’s criticism of the decision.

Breaking story by Andrew Woodcock here: