The genteel streets of Geneva have become a battleground. Black-clad protesters, masked and angry, have clashed with Swiss riot police outside the luxury hotel hosting the G7 leaders. Smoke from burning barricades drifts across the lake.
Inside, the British delegation is fuming. Sources describe Sir Keir Starmer as 'livid' that security was not tightened sooner. His security detail is on high alert.
The PM demanded an emergency session on 'law and order' with the Swiss president. But the real game is at home. Backbenchers are already asking: why was the UK exposed to this?
The optics are terrible. Starmer wanted a statesmanlike summit. He got a riot.
The French president looked amused. The German chancellor, stoic. But the British team is pushing for a joint statement condemning 'violent extremism.
' The problem? No one else wants to sign. They see this as a Swiss domestic matter.
Starmer's people disagree. They argue that the targeting of a G7 leader sets a dangerous precedent. I'm told the PM's chief of staff is 'working the phones' to other delegations.
No luck so far. Meanwhile, the protests grow. Local reports say 10,000 are on the streets.
The temperature is rising. For Starmer, this is a test of mettle. He needs a win.
But Geneva is slipping away.
