Donald Trump dramatically cancels London trip amid fears he would face storm of protest
3 min read
Donald Trump has dramatically cancelled his planned trip to open the new American Embassy in London amid fears he would face a storm of protest.
The US President had been expected to make his first visit to Britain since entering the White House a year ago.
But in a blow for Theresa May - who just last week insisted the maverick billionaire would be coming to the UK - the Daily Mail revealed that the trip had now been called off.
It is thought that US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will now officially cut the ribbon on the embassy at a much more low-key event next month.
President Trump confirmed his visit was no longer happening in a typically-bullish tweet in which he laid the blame at the previous Obama administration for selling the previous US Embassy "for peanuts".
It is now not known when President Trump will finally come to this country for the first time since his inauguration a year ago.
He has accepted Theresa May's offer of a full state visit - which would include meeting the Queen - but no date has ever been set and it is not expected to happen at any point in the near future.
Relations between the president and the Prime Minister have become strained by a series of rows over the past 12 months.
Last month, Mrs May said the Republican had been "wrong" to retweet anti-Muslim videos posted by the far-right group Britain First.
The Prime Minister also condemned his "unhelpful" decision to declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel.
She has also been at odds with President Trump over his decision to withdraw America from the Paris climate change accord, comments he has made about London mayor Sadiq Khan and his ban on immigration to the US from citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries.
A Downing Street spokesman said: "An invitation for a state visit has been extended and accepted."
One of his closest British allies, Nigel Farage said President Trump's decision was "disappointing". Speaking on Radio 4's Today Progamme, the former leader of UKIP said: "He has been to countries all over the world, and yet he has not been to the one that is closest. I would say it was disappointing...just maybe Sadiq Khan, Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party planning mass protests, maybe those optics he didn't like the look of."
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