Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives at No 10 Downing Street for a meeting with British leader Liz Truss on Sunday. PA
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives at No 10 Downing Street for a meeting with British leader Liz Truss on Sunday. PA
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives at No 10 Downing Street for a meeting with British leader Liz Truss on Sunday. PA
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives at No 10 Downing Street for a meeting with British leader Liz Truss on Sunday. PA

Britain's Liz Truss meets world leaders and King Charles


Soraya Ebrahimi
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Britain's Prime Minister Liz Truss held talks with world leaders on Sunday before meeting King Charles III, as she prepared to say a final farewell to the queen along with hundreds of dignitaries from across the globe.

Ms Truss hosted her Irish counterpart as well as the Canada's prime minister and the Polish president at No 10 Downing Street on Sunday.

She had been expected to meet US President Joe Biden but the talks were cancelled on Saturday.

Instead, a “full bilateral meeting” has been scheduled for Wednesday when the pair are set to be in New York for the UN General Assembly.

Ms Truss also had an audience with King Charles at Buckingham Palace on Sunday, before his reception for visiting heads of state.

The weekend’s talks with world leaders were being framed by No 10 as chats to offer condolences over the queen’s death, during which politics was likely to come up.

In particular, Ms Truss’s meeting with Irish PM Micheal Martin came against a backdrop of tensions over the future of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Liz Truss's political career - in pictures

  • New Conservative Party leader and Britain's Prime Minister-elect Liz Truss delivers a speech after being announced the winner of the Tory Party leadership contest in central London on September 5, 2022. Ms Truss is the UK's third female prime minister following Theresa May and Margaret Thatcher. AFP
    New Conservative Party leader and Britain's Prime Minister-elect Liz Truss delivers a speech after being announced the winner of the Tory Party leadership contest in central London on September 5, 2022. Ms Truss is the UK's third female prime minister following Theresa May and Margaret Thatcher. AFP
  • Liz Truss during a hustings event in Darlington in August 2022. Ms Truss and Rishi Sunak are awaiting the results of a poll of Conservative Party members deciding which of them has been selected as the new party leader, and next prime minister. PA
    Liz Truss during a hustings event in Darlington in August 2022. Ms Truss and Rishi Sunak are awaiting the results of a poll of Conservative Party members deciding which of them has been selected as the new party leader, and next prime minister. PA
  • Liz Truss playing pool during a visit to the Onside Future Youth Zone in London in August 2022. PA
    Liz Truss playing pool during a visit to the Onside Future Youth Zone in London in August 2022. PA
  • Boris Johnson and Ms Truss arriving for an extraordinary summit at Nato headquarters in Brussels, in March 2022. AFP
    Boris Johnson and Ms Truss arriving for an extraordinary summit at Nato headquarters in Brussels, in March 2022. AFP
  • Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ms Truss arrive for talks in Moscow in February 2022. AP
    Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ms Truss arrive for talks in Moscow in February 2022. AP
  • Ms Truss in Red Square during a visit to Moscow in February 2022. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street
    Ms Truss in Red Square during a visit to Moscow in February 2022. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street
  • Ms Truss meeting European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic (not seen) for talks in central London on the Northern Ireland Protocol on 11th February 2022. PA
    Ms Truss meeting European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic (not seen) for talks in central London on the Northern Ireland Protocol on 11th February 2022. PA
  • Ms Truss with Marise Payne, the Australian minister of foreign affairs, at Government House in Sydney, Australia, in January 2022. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street
    Ms Truss with Marise Payne, the Australian minister of foreign affairs, at Government House in Sydney, Australia, in January 2022. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street
  • Liz Truss hosts Vice President of the European Commission Maros Sefcovic at Chevening House in January 2022 to discuss the Northern Ireland protocol. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street
    Liz Truss hosts Vice President of the European Commission Maros Sefcovic at Chevening House in January 2022 to discuss the Northern Ireland protocol. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street
  • Ms Truss visits British troops in Estonia as they operate alongside other Nato troops in Tapa in November 2021. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street
    Ms Truss visits British troops in Estonia as they operate alongside other Nato troops in Tapa in November 2021. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street
  • Liz Truss walks through the old town in Tallinn, Estonia, in November 2021. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street
    Liz Truss walks through the old town in Tallinn, Estonia, in November 2021. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street
  • Ms Truss greeting Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Cop26 summit in Glasgow, in November 2021. PA
    Ms Truss greeting Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Cop26 summit in Glasgow, in November 2021. PA
  • Ms Truss at the Red Fort in New Delhi during a trip to India in October 2021. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street
    Ms Truss at the Red Fort in New Delhi during a trip to India in October 2021. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street
  • The British foreign secretary on the Plaza de la Constitucion in Mexico City, during a trip to Mexico in September 2021. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street
    The British foreign secretary on the Plaza de la Constitucion in Mexico City, during a trip to Mexico in September 2021. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street
  • Queen Elizabeth II greeting Ms Truss at a reception for international business and investment leaders at Windsor Castle in October 2021. PA
    Queen Elizabeth II greeting Ms Truss at a reception for international business and investment leaders at Windsor Castle in October 2021. PA
  • Liz Truss with Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, in New York, in September 2021. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street
    Liz Truss with Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, in New York, in September 2021. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street
  • Ms Truss on a morning jog over Brooklyn Bridge in New York in September 2021. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street
    Ms Truss on a morning jog over Brooklyn Bridge in New York in September 2021. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street
  • Former Chancellor Philip Hammond, centre, holding his red ministerial box outside 11, Downing Street, flanked by Treasury colleagues Ms Truss and Mel Stride in October 2018. PA
    Former Chancellor Philip Hammond, centre, holding his red ministerial box outside 11, Downing Street, flanked by Treasury colleagues Ms Truss and Mel Stride in October 2018. PA
  • Ms Truss, then secretary of state for justice, being escorted around HMP Brixton by prison governor David Bamford in November 2016. PA
    Ms Truss, then secretary of state for justice, being escorted around HMP Brixton by prison governor David Bamford in November 2016. PA
  • Ms Truss as she became the first woman ever to hold the role of Lord Chancellor, arriving at the Royal Courts of Justice before being installed in July 2016. PA
    Ms Truss as she became the first woman ever to hold the role of Lord Chancellor, arriving at the Royal Courts of Justice before being installed in July 2016. PA
  • In April 2016, the former environment secretary Liz Truss listening to former chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne (not seen) during his speech at the National Composites Centre in Bristol. PA
    In April 2016, the former environment secretary Liz Truss listening to former chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne (not seen) during his speech at the National Composites Centre in Bristol. PA
  • When she was environment minister, Ms Truss visited the bridge over the River Wharfe in Tadcaster, which collapsed after heavy flooding in December 2015. Getty Images
    When she was environment minister, Ms Truss visited the bridge over the River Wharfe in Tadcaster, which collapsed after heavy flooding in December 2015. Getty Images
  • Addressing the Conservative party conference in Birmingham in 2014 when she was secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs. Getty Images
    Addressing the Conservative party conference in Birmingham in 2014 when she was secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs. Getty Images
  • Mr Truss on the Sawnnington Farm to Fork stand at the Norfolk Food Festival at the Houses Of Parliament in October 2011. PA
    Mr Truss on the Sawnnington Farm to Fork stand at the Norfolk Food Festival at the Houses Of Parliament in October 2011. PA
  • Conservative Parliamentary candidate for South-West Norfolk Elizabeth Truss, while canvassing in the village of West Walton during the 2010 General Election campaign. PA
    Conservative Parliamentary candidate for South-West Norfolk Elizabeth Truss, while canvassing in the village of West Walton during the 2010 General Election campaign. PA
  • The former Conservative Shadow Home Secretary, Dominic Grieve, centre, speaking at the launch Reform's Lawful Society report on the nature of crime and the incentives in the criminal justice system while Ms Truss looks on, in September 2008. PA
    The former Conservative Shadow Home Secretary, Dominic Grieve, centre, speaking at the launch Reform's Lawful Society report on the nature of crime and the incentives in the criminal justice system while Ms Truss looks on, in September 2008. PA
  • Former Conservative Leader William Hague meeting conservative candidate for Calder valley Ms Truss, during the General Election Campaign for 2005. PA
    Former Conservative Leader William Hague meeting conservative candidate for Calder valley Ms Truss, during the General Election Campaign for 2005. PA

Mr Martin said he had a “warm” meeting with the British PM but refrained from answering questions on the controversial post-Brexit treaty.

He left No 10 just under an hour after arriving on Sunday morning.

“I don’t think this is the time, if you don’t mind me saying so, to get into the detail about issues like the protocol,” he told the BBC.

“I’ve had a good telephone conversation last week with the British Prime Minister, had an initial warm meeting this morning where we discussed many issues in the context of the British-Irish relationship.

“But I do think the opportunity is there for us to reset relationships and to be conscious of what we achieved in previous years, the obstacles that were overcome then.

“And that gives us the strength to know that we have the capacity to overcome current obstacles, current issues that potentially could impede the relationship, and I believe we can overcome them.”

World leaders and royals pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II - video

Ms Truss also met Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Polish President Andrzej Duda at Downing Street on Sunday.

The PM kicked off her talks with world leaders on Saturday, speaking to counterparts from New Zealand and Australia.

The meetings were held at the government’s Chevening country residence, rather than Chequers, which is said to be undergoing routine maintenance work after Boris Johnson’s exit.

At 8pm on Sunday, Ms Truss will observe a minute’s silence with the country to mourn the queen’s death and reflect on her life and legacy.

People have been invited to mark the occasion privately at home, on their doorstep or street, or at community events and vigils.

Updated: September 18, 2022, 9:30 PM