Liz Truss will meet Joe Biden and other world leaders flying in for the Queen’s funeral over the weekend but the government will not reveal what is discussed because of the national mourning period.
The prime minister is to see the US president on Sunday in Downing Street, along with the Irish taoiseach, Micheál Martin, the Polish president, Andrzej Duda, and the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau. She will meet the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and the New Zealand prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, at Chevening on Sunday.
However, there will be a ban on the usual cameras allowed in to report on the meetings, and no information available on what is discussed.
No 10 suggested that part of the meetings would be taken up with condolences and sharing memories about the Queen but that other matters would be likely to come up as well.
It will be Truss’s first meeting with Biden since taking office, at a time of major global instability over Ukraine and Russia, the energy crisis and inflation. Her encounter with Martin will also be significant given the dispute over Northern Ireland and the implementation of the Brexit protocol.
Truss is likely to be questioned by the media about the contents of the meetings when she flies to New York for the UN general assembly. But it is highly unusual not to have a read-out of diplomatic meetings provided by senior civil servants present.
Asked if the period of mourning was being used as an excuse for a lack of transparency, one of Truss’s official spokespeople said: “I wouldn’t agree with that at all.”
Truss is likely to meet other world leaders, such as the French president, Emmanuel Macron, while she is in New York but will not be going to Washington for an official visit. She is due to return at the end of next week in time for the mini-budget, expected to be on Friday.
Before the Queen’s funeral, Truss will also have an audience with the King on Sunday afternoon, attend a reception of world leaders at Buckingham Palace, and join the country in observing a minute’s silence at 8pm.
She will attend the state funeral and Windsor ceremony for the Queen on Monday, before flying to New York.
Truss had been expected to finish her reshuffle next week, appointing about another 50 ministers who were not yet in post when the Queen died on Thursday.
However, there is a suggestion that this might not be possible for another week, until after the period of royal mourning, as the King has to make the appointments on the advice of the prime minister.
