Boris Johnson has led a procession of senior political, military and diplomatic figures along with faith leaders into Whitehall and close to the Cenotaph.

Among the group were former prime ministers Sir John Major, Tony Blair, David Cameron and Theresa May.

Party leaders attending included Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.

The Queen and other members of the royal family are watching from balconies at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office building overlooking the Cenotaph.

Farage loses £10,000 bet on Trump

Nigel Farage is set to lose £10,000 after he bet that Donald Trump would win the US election.

The Brexit Party leader tweeted on election day that he was “absolutely optimistic” about the wager.

Here is the full story: 

Is Raab reluctant to say all votes should be counted?

Dominic Raab had to be asked numerous times whether all votes should be counted in a democratic election before acknowledging that “in principle, yes, of course” they should be.

Pushed on why he appeared hesitant to say so initially, the foreign secretary told Sky’s Ridge on Sunday programme: “Because what you’re really trying to do is to drag me into the legal claims about whether or not all the votes have properly been counted when you look at the mail votes, the votes in person and the claims that have been made, for example, about the posting of military ballots – so I just don’t want to get sucked into that.”

The line of questioning followed calls from Donald Trump for counting to be stopped in key states that were likely to determine the outcome of the election.

Mr Raab continued: “I think what we do is wait until the result is clear beyond doubt, it is now.

“We welcome President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris, we’re looking forward to working with them.

“We really don’t want to get drawn into the cut and thrust, the controversies, the claims, the counter-claims, either in the election or in the immediate aftermath, and that is we respect Americans’ rights to choose for themselves and we respect the checks and balances in the American system which will produce, as they have, a clear result.”

The world leaders who congratulated Biden – and those who stayed silent

World leaders have joined Boris Johnson in heralding Joe Biden’s election victory – though not every prime minister or president has jumped at the chance to congratulate the president-elect.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia told reporters he looked forward to a “great partnership” with Washington.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been known for public displays of bonhomie with Donald Trump, shared a photo of himself with Mr Biden and offered his congratulations “on your spectacular victory!”

Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated US President-elect Joe Biden as a “great friend of Israel”.

And the elected leaders of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan invoked “shared values” with Washington and expressed hope for close relations.

But there was no immediate reaction from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was friendly with Trump, or Beijing, which is mired in conflicts with the Trump administration.

President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia have also so far stayed silent.

Government presenting ‘scariest’ coronavirus data?

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has responded to the government amending a slide which showed there could be up to 4,000 deaths a day linked to coronavirus by next month.

Asked if the government was presenting the “scariest data”,  he told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge: “We showed models which show what could happen if certain scenarios play out.

“We corrected the slide you referred to and it was the wealth of scientific information that comes forward … we tried to be as transparent as possible.”

Here is the original story from last week: 

Chances of a UK-US trade deal?

Confirmation of a new administration in Washington has inevitably led to questions over what the impact could be on a future UK-US trade deal – something held up by Brexiteers as a supposed benefit of leaving the EU.

Ex-chancellor Sajid Javid said he felt a Joe Biden presidency would offer a better chance to strike a post-Brexit trade deal with the US than under a Trump administration.

Put to him that a trade deal would have been easier under Donald Trump, he told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme: “Not at all. In fact, I think a trade deal with Joe Biden is far more likely.

“Let’s look at the evidence, let’s look at what Donald Trump actually did when he was in office when it came to trade with the UK.

“He slapped tariffs on UK aluminium, UK steel, Scotch whisky – that not only hurt people in America in terms of higher prices, but it also cost jobs here in the UK.

“President Trump is a protectionist, he has been very clear about that, he’s paralysed the WTO (World Trade Organisation).

“We now want to strike more trade deals across the world and actually what you need is a president who believes in free trade, and that’s what we’re going to have with Joe Biden.”

However the shadow international trade secretary, Emily Thornberry, has warned that achieving a trade deal with the United States could take “many years”.

Ms Thornberry told Sky’s Ridge on Sunday: “The reality is actually getting an all-singing, all-dancing trade deal is something that takes many years and is quite complex and quite difficult to put together.

“Let’s also then, as the next thing, is make sure that we have a proper deal with the European Union, with whom we do half of our trade, and that we’re not undermining the Good Friday Agreement – and then we can move on to working with the United States further on other areas where we could increase trade.”

Javid: Biden victory ‘right outcome’ for UK

Former chancellor Sajid Javid said Joe Biden’s US election victory was the “right outcome” and argued he was an ally the UK could work closely with on international issues.

Speaking to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme, he said: “I think there is a lot of crossover, a lot of mutual interests – far more than there ever was with a Trump administration.

“If you look at three or four of the biggest issues right now, the pandemic, for example, he will certainly be taking it more seriously, as we do.

“He has already said he is going to rejoin the World Health Organisation.

“We’ll be chairing the G7 next year, for example. That means we can work on a global recovery plan with a man in the White House who is a multilaterist, who understands the need for combined action internationally and, when it comes to trade, Joe Biden believes in free trade – Donald Trump was a protectionist.

“Then also for, example, when it comes to climate change – we’ll be hosting the world’s largest, a seriously important climate change conference next year, we’ll be chairing that and, right now, with the new leader of the White House, we’ll have someone who’ll want to work with us to bring about change.”

Liz Truss secures Japan tariff wins … for products UK doesn’t export

The trade secretary has been accused of misleading MPs and the public over her new Japan trade deal, because all the tariff “wins” are for goods the UK does not export to the country anyway.

Here is Rob Merrick’s exclusive story:  

UK leaders react to Biden win

Boris Johnson has said he looks “forward to working closely together” with Joe Biden in a congratulatory tweet.

“Congratulations to Joe Biden on his election as President of the United States and to Kamala Harris on her historic achievement,” the prime minister wrote.

“The US is our most important ally and I look forward to working closely together on our shared priorities, from climate change to trade and security.”

His message was followed by Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who tweeted that he was “looking forward to working with the new administration”, adding: “It was a close contest and Donald Trump fought hard.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer praised Biden’s campaign for “decency, integrity, compassion and strength”.

He said: “Their victory is one for hope and unity over dishonesty and division.

“This is also an important moment for the world. It is a chance to reassert America’s place as a force for good on the world stage.

“A nation that will work with Britain and other allies to defeat this pandemic and fight climate change.

“I am looking forward to building on this and forging an even stronger relationship between the UK and the USA.”

Government U-turns over Rashford’s campaign for free meals

England football star Marcus Rashford has said he is “overwhelmed with pride” after his campaign against child poverty delivered a government U-turn worth £170m in support for disadvantaged families during the coming winter of coronavirus restrictions.

Here is our political editor, Andrew Woodcock, with the full story: