Politics latest news: France has 48 hours to back down on fishing threats or face legal action, says Foreign Secretary

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France has 48 hours to back down on fishing threats or the UK will bring legal action over the row, the Foreign Secretary has said.

Speaking as the key climate summit Cop26 kicks off, Liz Truss rejected suggestions a deal had been done, and showed no sign of the UK shifting its stance, warning that the UK would see "compensatory measures" if France did not "back down".

Ms Truss told Sky News: "The French have made completely unreasonable threats, including to the Channel Islands and to our fishing industry, and they need to withdraw those threats or else we will use the mechanisms of our trade agreement with the EU to take action."

The Cabinet minister added: "This issue needs to be resolved within the next 48 hours." Asked if that could include legal action, she said "absolutely".

She later told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the UK would not "roll over in the face of these threats."

But Pierre-Henri Dumont, the centre-Right Republicains MP for Calais, said France would back "harder negotiations" to make Britain "understand that fishing rights are very important for us and that was part of the deal".

He told the Today programme: “We can find retaliation on scallops. We can find retaliation on docking in France. We can find retaliation on electricity...that’s on the table."

​​Follow the latest updates below.

09:29 AM

Ed Miliband: Cop26 is 'beginning, not the end'

Cop26 is the "beginning, not the end" of the move to resolve climate change, Labour's Ed Miliband has said, as he called for annual summits to agree any outstanding measures after the two-week summit ends.

The shadow business secretary noted that the meeting was more complicated than usual summits because any agreement must have total unanimity, with more than 190 countries attending.

"Everyone has got to agree for this summit to succeed," he told Sky News. "If one or two countries object it could detail the whole thing. This is not a normal summit, this is not just 'have a nice photo' - this is really hard yards," he added.

Asked how optimistic he was about the chances of success, he said: "I don't think we want to declare this a failure. This is too important for failure. But wherever we end up, my prediction is that Glasgow will be beginning not the end."

The next scheduled summit, in 2025, is "too long to wait", he added so "anything short, we have got to say we are not waiting until 2025 - we are coming back this year or next year".

09:24 AM

Labour: UK must form 'pincer movement' to get China to act on climate

The UK must form a "pincer movement" with developing countries in a bid to force big emitters like China to act, Labour's Ed Miliband has said.

"Money for developing countries, vulnerable countries - the countries that might actually disappear - is so important. It's important morally but also for success of this summit," he told Sky News.

The "pincer movement" of countries that "want to take action putting pressure on countries like China - that is what is going to produce results," he added.

The shadow business secretary said it was "regrettable" that China's President Xi JinPing was not attending, and blamed it on the Prime Minister being a "lastminute.com kind of guy".

09:18 AM

Don't give out 'free passes for big emitters', Labour tells Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson should have realised years ago that climate change is a "really tough" challenge to resolve, Ed Miliband has said.

After the Prime Minister's warning that the world is a "one minute to midnight", the shadow business secretary said: "I am glad he has finally realised it is really tough, but I do wish he had realised it two years ago when summit was being planned. He shouldn't be saying, just as the summit begins, that we are in trouble."

The former Labour leader told Sky News that the Government "can't negotiate with the science" and therefore had to focus on what it could get from the assembled world leaders.

"The Government should put pressure on all the big countries," he added, singling out Australia for "not doing nearly enough".

He added: "There should be no free passes for any of the big emitters."

09:13 AM

Ed Miliband backs Government on fishing row with France

Labour's Ed Miliband has said he backs the Government over the fishing row with France, saying: "I don't like the way the French have behaved on this at all."

The former party leader and shadow business secretary told Sky News: "This is not what we need at any time, it is certainly not what we need now. This is the biggest global summit ever, and that is where the focus should be."

"So let's lower the temporary on both sides- threats aren't going to get us anywhere."

Asked if he supports the Government, he replied: "I do. I fear it may be being done in France for domestic political reasons."

He said it would not "derail" Cop26, but added: "We can't let it distract us one iota from what we are doing here."

08:58 AM

Macron says Australian PM lied over submarine deal

It's not just Britain that Emmanuel Macron has le bœuf with.

The French President claims his Australian counterpart, Scott Morrison, lied to him over the cancellation of a submarine building contract in September. The two leaders met in Rome this weekend for the first time since the Aukus deal caught Paris off guard, prompting it to recall ambassadors from Washington and Canberra amid accusations that France had been betrayed.

"I don't think, I know," Mr Macron said in response to a question whether he thought that Mr Morrison had lied to him.

He told Australian reporters: "I have a lot of respect and a lot of friendship for your people. I just say when we have respect, you have to be true and you have to behave in line, and consistently, with this value."

Read more here.

08:48 AM

Boris Johnson: History will judge us on success of Cop26

He added: "I’ll be asking world leaders to take action on coal, cars, cash and trees – to keep alive the prospect of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees."

08:40 AM

Failure not an option: Nicola Sturgeon tells world leaders to 'step up' climate commitments

Nicola Sturgeon has said world leaders must "step up" their commitments to resolving climate change, saying those made ahead of Cop26 are not enough.

Asked if the summit would be a success, she told ITV's Good Morning Britain: "I don't know is the honest answer to that right now... The leaders haven't yet arrived here, they will arrive over the course of the morning and perhaps this time tomorrow we'll have a better idea of the answer to that question.

"If the commitments that have been made coming into this conference are the commitments coming out of this conference, this answer will be no," she added. "So it's in the balance and leaders have got to step up and increase their scale of ambition if it's to be a success.

"We can't afford failure here. The future of the planet, quite literally, the future of generations to come and in much nearer term the continued existence of many communities in the world depend on success here. So failure is really not an option."

08:38 AM

UK must 'put Cop26 pessimism to one side', says Nicola Sturgeon

Nicola Sturgeon has said she "shares" Boris Johnson's pessimism of a positive outcome to the climate talks at Cop26 but urged world leaders to "put our shoulders to the wheel".

The Prime Minister has said it is "touch and go" whether the summit will be successful, telling a children's press conference he was "very worried" about the chances of a good outcome.

This morning Scotland's First Minister told Sky News: "The Prime Minister is right to be pessimistic at this stage - I share his pessimism. But we've all got to put the pessimism to one side and put our shoulders to the wheel.

"The UK, having the presidency of this Cop, has a particular responsibility to corral the leaders, to bring them together, to encourage them to do more than they are currently committed to do.

"There's a big gap on emissions, a big gap on climate finance - so much, much work to be done, and I will do everything I can to push it in the right direction."

08:33 AM

Boris Johnson 'not in favour of more coal'

Boris Johnson has restated his opposition to the creation of a new coal mine in Cumbria - potentially putting him on a collision course with his own backbenchers.

Speaking as Cop26 kicks off, the Prime Minister said the world is at "one minute to midnight", having run down the clock on waiting to combat climate change as he confirmed he did not want to see a controversial proposed coal mine in Cumbria go ahead.

"I'm not in favour of more coal," he told the BBC "But it is not a decision for me, it is a decision for the planning authorities."

During a children's press conference last week, Mr Johnson said: "We don't want to support new coal mines."

However local politicians including Workington MP Mark Jenkinson and Ben Houchen, the Tees Valley Mayor, have both backed the project as a way of kick-starting the local economy.

08:26 AM

UK will not 'roll over' on fishing row, says Liz Truss

Liz Truss has said the UK "is simply not going to roll over" in the face of France's "serious" threats over fishing licences.

The Foreign Secretary told BBC Radio 4's Today programme; "We don't want confrontation, we want to reach a constructive agreement that allows that trade to flow freely."

The threats coming from France were "completely unwarranted", and not "the type of rhetoric we would expect to see from a close friend and ally".

"I call on France to withdraw those threats," she added, saying the UK. "We simple cannot have a situation where we are being threatened like that."

Boris Johnson made that point to Emmanuel Macron during the pair's meeting yesterday, she added.

08:19 AM

No to meat tax, says Liz Truss

Liz Truss said she would not support a "meat tax" on foods with a high-carbon footprint after Environment Secretary George Eustice raised the prospect.

The Foreign Secretary told Sky News: "I wouldn't support a meat tax.

"I think it's really important that we support our fantastic British farming industry and I think it's important that rather than using the stick to encourage people to become more climate friendly we use the carrot, if that's not mixing metaphors with meat.

"And we actually make a climate-friendly lifestyle more affordable for people."

08:16 AM

Watch: How climate change will define Boris Johnson's legacy

It was David Cameron who originally said "vote blue, go green", but it has fallen to Boris Johnson to be the Conservative Prime Minister having to put green measures into action.

As COP26 gets underway, Mr Johnson has stressed the importance of coming away from the summit with serious commitments from world leaders.

His reputation for leadership on the world stage could be at stake.

But Mr Johnson is also facing significant pressure from his own party. Around 40 Conservative MPs have formed the Net Zero Scrutiny Group to warn of the high costs of implement the measures necessary for achieving the 2050 goal.

Watch the full analysis by The Telegraph's Deputy Political Editor Lucy Fisher in the video above.

08:15 AM

'Intense negotiations' to ensure countries hit climate targets, says Foreign Secretary

Liz Truss has said the UK would "put pressure" on countries to match targets and ensure funding for developing countries who are on "the frontline of climate change".

The Foreign Secretary repeated the Prime Minister's warning that the success of Cop26 was "touch and go", with much riding on how willing leaders are to commit to the "details" of funding packages.

"There will be really intense negotiations in the coming days, making sure more countries are willing to take action, and making sure we have finances to make sure countries can do what they need to do," she told Sky News. "We will put pressure on them to do just that."

Ms Truss also defended the need to meet in person, despite yesterday's travel chaos, saying Zoom would not be enough.

08:13 AM

Cop26 no-shows because of Covid, Foreign Secretary claims

Liz Truss has suggested the leaders of China, Brazil and Russia are not attending Cop26 because of Covid.

Xi JinPing, Vladimir Putin and Jair Bolsonaro are not expected to join around 120 world leaders in Glasgow over the coming days, but delegates from their respective regimes are.

The Foreign Secretary told Sky News: "Some of those leaders simply aren’t travelling" because of Covid.

"Those countries are all sending delegations here for negotiations," she added. "I have spoken to my Chinese counterpart, made it clear that we want to see more ambition.

"We will be working to hold all of those countries to account. It is a borderless problem, and we will only solve it if we have every single country on board."

08:11 AM

Fishing row must not overshadow Cop26, Foreign Secretary tells France

Liz Truss has said the row with France over fishing must cannot be allowed to overshadow Cop26.

The Foreign Secretary rejected suggestions that a deal had already been agreed, telling Sky News: "The deal hasn’t been done, the French have made completely unreasonable threats including to channel islands and our fishing industry.

She added: "We all know how important Cop is for all of us and our futures - this cannot be allowed to overshadow the most important conference of a generation."

08:00 AM

EU chief accuses UK of seeking Brexit clash

Brussels has warned the UK not to “embark on a path of confrontation”, amid tensions over Northern Ireland and post-Brexit fishing rights.

Ahead of a crunch week for UK-EU relations, Marcos Sefcovic, a European Commission vice-president, urged Lord Frost, his British counterpart, to back down and reconsider the EU’s proposals to reduce checks on British goods entering Northern Ireland under the protocol.

Writing in The Telegraph, Mr Sefcovic said: “I am increasingly concerned that the UK Government will refuse to engage with this and embark on a path of confrontation.”

Mr Sefcovic’s intervention comes after Boris Johnson accused France on Sunday of breaking the “spirit and letter” of the UK’s Brexit settlement with the EU, as the cross-Channel spat over fishing grew increasingly bitter.

Talks between UK and EU officials in Brussels over the Northern Ireland Protocol resume on Monday, with Lord Frost and Mr Sefcovic set to meet on Friday to decide whether progress has been made. The pair are also likely to discuss the row over fishing.

07:59 AM

Good Morning

After much anticipation, and no small amount of travel chaos, the good and the great have descended on Glasgow for Cop26.

But with no-shows from the leaders of China, Russia and Brazil, questions remain as to how successful the climate summit will be.

Meanwhile the fishing row between the UK and France threatens to overshadow the gathering, with tensions rising and neither side showing any sign of backing down. Here's today's front page.