Up to King Charles whether he wishes to attend Cop27, says Thérèse Coffey

Environment secretary defends Rishi Sunak's decision not to go to climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh

UK politics live - latest news updates

King Charles is free to decide whether or not to attend the Cop27 climate summit, the new environment secretary, Therese Coffey, has said as she defended the decision of the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, not to go.

Sunak, the third British prime minister in seven weeks, has come under scrutiny from opposition ministers and environmental groups, who called his decision not to attend Cop27 a failure" and said it brought into question government commitments to prioritise net zero and tackle the climate crisis.