Trump to make UK state visit in June
US President Donald Trump is to make his long-awaited state visit to the UK – an announcement greeted with condemnation and threats of mass demonstrations.
Prime Minister Theresa May hailed the visit, planned for June, as a chance for the UK and the US “to strengthen our already close relationship”, while the White House said it would “reaffirm the steadfast and special relationship” between the nations.
Mr Trump is a controversial figure and confirmation of the trip was condemned by shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry, who said the president had “systematically assaulted all the shared values that unite our two countries”.
Security around the visit is expected to be high and organisation Stand Up To Trump said campaigners have pledged to mobilise in response to the president’s trip.
Mrs May, who was widely criticised for inviting the US leader to make a state visit just days into his presidency in 2017, said: “The state visit is an opportunity to strengthen our already close relationship in areas such as trade, investment, security and defence, and to discuss how we can build on these ties in the years ahead.”
Mr Trump will hold bilateral talks with Mrs May at Downing Street during the visit from June 3-5, and will take part in commemorations in Portsmouth marking the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
Visiting heads of state are sometimes given the honour of addressing both Houses of Parliament but Commons Speaker John Bercow sparked controversy in 2017 by saying the US leader should not be allowed to make a formal address.
The Speaker said at the time that addressing Parliament was “not an automatic right, it is an earned honour”.
Buckingham Palace formally announced the state visit as the Queen is the president’s host, and it is understood the monarch’s official London home will be the venue for the visit and where the traditional state banquet will be held for Mr Trump and his wife Melania. But the president is not expected to stay at the palace because of renovations being undertaken.
Mr Trump’s trip was expected to have taken place in 2017, but the president reportedly told Mrs May that year he would not come to Britain for his state visit until he was sure of getting a “better reception”.
A White House spokesman said: “This state visit will reaffirm the steadfast and special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.”
But the shadow foreign secretary said: “This is a president who has systematically assaulted all the shared values that unite our two countries, and unless Theresa May is finally going to stand up to him and object to that behaviour, she has no business wasting taxpayers’ money on all the pomp, ceremony and policing costs that will come with this visit.”
Sabby Dhalu, from Stand Up To Trump, claimed the US leader was “the world’s number one racist, warmonger and misogynist”.