Th?r?se Coffey defends Rishi Sunak’s decision to miss Cop27 as PM accused of ‘failure of leadership’ – UK politics live

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The environment secretary, Th?r?se Coffey, said a Northern Ireland assembly election will “definitely happen”, after a deadline to restore devolved government at Stormont was missed.

Coffey said “clearly” there was not “sufficient agreement” among Stormont parties to avoid a fresh election.

The Northern Ireland secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris, was expected to call the election on Friday, after a last-ditch effort to restore the multi-party executive failed. While he has not yet laid out the details, there has been speculation the poll will be held on 15 December.

Coffey told Sky News it was “regrettable” the parties could not form an executive.

But the law was clear. We passed the legislation that this would happen and clearly there wasn’t sufficient agreement to be able to avoid the elections. That wasn’t in the hands of the [UK] government, that was in the hands of the parties representing the different communities in Northern Ireland.

I hope that the next elections will be an opportunity for people to reconsider their approach, recognising the ‘new decade, new approach’ agreement that was signed only a couple of years ago, and we need to make sure that we do what we can to work together to try and make that come to fruition.

Asked if there was any chance the elections could be avoided through new legislation, she said:

They will definitely happen.

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The Commons Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, said he is expected to receive the report on Monday into accusations of bullying at the chaotic vote on fracking.

Hoyle launched an investigation after allegations were made about Tory MPs being “manhandled” into the government voting lobby.

Asked on Good Morning Britain what he had found out about what happened in the Commons earlier this month, he replied:

On Monday, I will go through [the report] and I will decide and take a view once I’ve read that in-depth report into the behaviour of that night.

More now from the environment secretary, Th?r?se Coffey, who has been doing the morning round of interviews.

She said she believes she does not owe people an apology for the actions of Liz Truss‘s government, but that she was “very confident that the financial situation is one of seriousness”.

Her “good friend” Truss is “enjoying a well-deserved break” with her family after having been the UK’s shortest-serving prime minister, Coffey told LBC.

Asked if she felt she should say sorry for the impact on the country’s finances, she said:

I don’t believe I owe an apology to your listeners, no, as much as I don’t think you owe me an apology for keeping me late from the next show.

Northern Ireland is on course for a snap election after a recall of the Stormont assembly failed to elect a speaker and break political deadlock.

The Democratic Unionist party (DUP) blocked an attempt to revive the assembly and executive on Thursday, perpetuating paralysis and running down the clock to a midnight deadline to restore devolved government. The deadline passed without any resolution.

The party rebuffed appeals from the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, business leaders and other parties, saying it had a mandate from its supporters to boycott Stormont unless unionist objections to the post-Brexit Irish Sea border were resolved.

If power sharing is not revived before Friday, by law, caretaker ministers must step down to be replaced by civil servants, and there must be an assembly election within 12 weeks.

Assembly members traded blame over why an assembly election last May had produced seven months of stalemate and the prospect of another poll, probably in December.

Michelle O’Neill, Sinn F?in’s vice-president, said people were “bewildered” and accused the DUP leader, Jeffrey Donaldson, of blocking democracy. “This is his mess, and a failure of leadership by him and his party.”

Naomi Long, the Alliance party leader, said politicians were placing party interests over those of a region where public services were “on their knees”. The Ulster Unionist party (UUP) leader, Doug Beattie, said anger in the chamber was nothing compared with what voters were feeling, adding: “I guess we are all going to feel that anger in the next six or seven weeks.”

The environment secretary Th?r?se Coffey said it was up to King Charles whether he attends the Cop27 climate summit in Egypt next month.

Speaking to Sky News, she said she was conscious that the monarch had always taken a “very deep interest” in the environment and climate change. She added:

Of course, it would be up to him to decide how he chooses where to put his priorities in his reign as king.

The environment secretary, Th?r?se Coffey, has continued to defend Rishi Sunak’s decision not to attend the Cop27 climate summit on the morning round of interviews.

Coffey suggested the summit was not one of the “big political summits”, despite a report in the Washington Post that said the US president, Joe Biden, is expected to attend next month. Coffey told LBC radio:

The government has postponed the medium-term fiscal plan until November 17. I know that the prime minister is very keen to work with the chancellor very closely on this important element, and so he’s prioritising that.

While at the same time, of course, the UK continues to show global leadership, as opposed to just a gathering of people in Egypt.

She also told Sky News:

I am not aware of, say, President Biden or President Macron, or any of those other people will be there [in Egypt]. It is quite standard practice that every five years is the big political gathering.

Good morning. The environment secretary, Th?r?se Coffey, has defended Rishi Sunak’s decision not to attend the Cop27 climate summit, after the prime minister was accused of a “massive failure of leadership”.

Coffey insisted the climate issue is “very much a priority” for the new government despite Downing Street’s announcement yesterday that Sunak would skip the United Nations climate conference in Egypt next month and instead focus on “pressing domestic commitments”.

No 10 also confirmed the climate minister Graham Stuart and the Cop26 president, Alok Sharma, had been stripped of their cabinet seats.

Speaking on Sky News, Coffey said the “big political” summits take place every five years. She said:

The big push happened last year in Glasgow. I am not aware of, say, President Biden or President Macron or any of those other people will be there. It is quite standard practice that every five years is the big political gathering.

She said “several senior government ministers” will be at the Cop27 summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, adding that she believed she would attend for “a couple of days”.

The shadow climate change secretary, Ed Miliband, said that what Sunak “obviously fails to understand is that tackling the climate crisis isn’t just about our reputation and standing abroad, but the opportunities for lower bills, jobs and energy security it can deliver at home”. He said:

This is a massive failure of climate leadership. We were the Cop26 hosts and now the UK prime minister isn’t even bothering to turn up to Cop27.

The Green MP Caroline Lucas said the announcement by No 10 was “a shameful way to end the UK’s Cop presidency”.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Coffey said:

I think we’re still working out the programme, but there are events that happen for a variety of ministers, whether it’s about energy or water, or the combination with nature.

I think, me personally, I think I’m going to be there for a couple of days. It’s my understanding other ministers will be there because the days in a Cop tend to have themes.

Here is the agenda for the day in Westminster:

09:30am. Latest survey of the social impact of the cost of living, goods shortages and Covid-19, from the Office for National Statistics.

09:30am. Private members’ bills in the House of Commons.

09:30am. Insolvency Service publishes quarterly personal and company insolvency figures.

09:30am. ONS: UK government debt and deficit data.

10am. Private members’ bills in the House of Lords, including a second reading of Tory peer Daniel Alton’s genocide determination bill.

I’m L?onie Chao-Fong and I’ll be taking you through today’s developments in British politics. Feel free to drop me a message if you have anything to flag, you can reach me on Twitter or via email.