‘It’s a joke’ - Latest reaction and pictures as Cornwall locks down further for G7 Summit

  • Watch: President Biden's motorcade leaves Carbis Bay Hotel.


Additional security measures have come into effect in Cornwall as whole towns and villages are placed in lockdown for the G7 Summit.

More than 6,500 police officers have been deployed in the region to ensure talks at Carbis Bay Hotel are conducted safely.

Leaders including Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden - making his first trip abroad since being elected - are among those attending.

The pair met for their first in-person talks at the hotel earlier today (Friday 10 June).

President Biden and Prime Minister Johnson take part in their first in-person talks. Credit: PA
Joe Biden arrived in Cornwall on board Air Force One, the presidential plane. Credit: PA
Biden's motorcade en route to Carbis Bay Hotel for talks. Credit: PA

In addition to police officers on the ground, armed units are stationed at the hotel while the Royal Navy has sent warships to patrol nearby waters.

It is a major security operation which Devon and Cornwall Police are overseeing, including road block enforcement and identification checkpoints for residents.

New barriers have been installed ahead of crunch talks on Friday 11 June.

A picture of the police roadblock in Carbis Bay.
Police pictured in Lelant.

But the sheer scale of the event has irked some, including businesses who say they have suffered financially.

Chaz Anderson-Smith, of St Ives Self-Drives, said he thought the summit was “a joke”.

“It’s an irritant to the whole community,” he told ITV News West Country.

“Obviously, we’re losing out on so much trade, it’s putting a lot of people off from coming down here.


  • Watch: Boat hire business owner speaks to ITV News West Country's Kylie Pentelow.


“And the people that do end up coming down here, they’ll probably just end up joining the protests.

“I just don’t see why they didn’t do it in London where they’re equipped to deal with it.”

The landlord of the Badger Inn, which is based in Lelant between Carbis Bay and Hayle, has voiced similar frustrations - suggesting he will lose out on around £30,000 while the event takes place.

This is due to large barriers which have been installed around so-called exclusion zones, preventing members of the public from accessing certain areas.

A police officer checks the road before Biden's motorcade drives through. Credit: PA
HMS Tamar on patrol near Carbis Bay. Credit: PA

Carbis Bay is at the centre of the operation, though restrictions have also been enforced in Lelant, St Ives and Falmouth.


What is the G7 summit?

The G7 is an organisation made up of the world's seven richest countries.

They are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the United States.

Russia joined in 1998, creating the "G8", but was excluded in 2014 for its takeover of Crimea.

The summit will formally begin on Friday 11 June.


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