Donald Trump's state visit to Britain 'next year'Â

Donald Trump's state visit to Britain 'next year' 

Donald Trump's state visit to the UK is now expected to take place next year.

The prospect of the US president coming to Britain with full pomp and ceremony this Autumn has been abandoned, senior Government sources have told MailOnline.

However, there is still a chance that Mr Trump could drop for a less formal visit before then. 

Mr Trump’s state visit to Britain was kicked into the long grass last month after it was left out of the Queen’s Speech.

The monarch uses the address to inform Parliament of upcoming visits, but the US president’s trip was absent from the speech outlining the Government’s programme for the next two years.

Donald Trump (pictured with his wife Melania at the G20 in Hamburg on Friday) will not have state visit to the UK until next year

The speech only contained a reference to welcoming King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain this month.

There were rumours that it could be back on again because Mr Trump is in Europe for ten days. 

Theresa May invited Mr Trump on behalf of the Queen when she met him in Washington DC in January - just a week after his inauguration.

However, both sides have failed to arrange a date amid reports that Mr Trump has been put off by the threat of fierce large-scale protests.

Mr Trump is said to have told the Prime Minister in a phone call earlier this month that he does not want to go ahead with the trip until the British public supports him coming, and could sc rap it entirely.

The call is said to have surprised Mrs May. The visit was originally scheduled as part of a trip to Europe next month, but was delayed until the autumn.

Recent weeks have seen Mr Trump embroiled in controversy, particularly when he mocked London mayor Sadiq Khan over his response to the London Bridge terrorist attack, which received a rare rebuke from Mrs May.

Theresa May, pictured holding hands with Donald Trump in Washington in January, invited the US president to come to Britain on a coveted state visit where he will be hosted by the Queen. But the invite was hugely controversial and appears to have now been pushed back to 2019

The Queen did not mention Mr Trump's visit in the Queen's speech. It comes after the US president reportedly said he does ot want to come to Britain if there are protests 

The President derided the mayor’s statement there was ‘no need to be alarmed’ by an increased police presence. He then launched a fresh Twitter attack on Mr Khan, branding him ‘pathetic’.

His comments - which were made only hours after the bloodbath - provoked fury, with Mr Khan calling for his state visit to be axed.

Queen Letizia of Spain, pictured last week, will come to Britain on a state visit this year with her husband King Felipe

He also drew criticism by pulling out of the Paris Agreement, shattering the world’s consensus on fighting global warming. He said he would seek to renegotiate terms that are ‘fair to the United States’.

The move caused international outcry. Mrs May told Mr Trump of her ‘disappointment’ at his decision, while Jeremy Corbyn called it ‘reckless and dangerous’.

In January Mr Trump caused uproar when he banned migrants from seven Muslim-majority countries travelling to the US.

Mr Khan called it ‘shameful and wrong’ and thousands demonstrated against it in cities across the UK.

A Number 10 spokesman denied that the trip had been cancelled. He said: †˜An invitation has been extended and accepted.

‘The visit wasn’t mentioned in the Queen’s Speech because a date hasn’t been fixed yet.’ 

But Donald Trump is planning a flying visit to Scotland â€" to one of his golf courses.

Officials believe the US president may drop in on either Menie in Aberdeenshire or newly reopened Turnberry, Ayrshire.

Mr Trump was in Poland last Thursday before attending the G20 leaders’ summit in Hamburg in Germany on Friday and Saturday. 

He will also attend the Bastille Day celebrations in France on Friday.

Owen Jones, co-founder of Stop Trump Coalition, said last week: ‘Donald Trump is so cowardly he thinks he can sneak into the country to avoid protests. We have to prove him wrong. We’re asking Britain to be on standby to take to the streets with just hours’ notice if necessary.’

The Government has insisted a separate and contentious state visit to Britain will go ahead despite it not being listed in the Queen’s Speech.

The address to Parliament usually mentions planned state visits but last month’s only referred to welcoming King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain in July, despite the PM inviting Mr Trump just a week after his inauguration.

 

 

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