US leader cancels UK February visit
US PRESIDENT Donald Trump is welcome in London and has accepted an invitation to visit, a spokesman for British Prime Minister Theresa May said yesterday, after Mr Trump cancelled a trip to Britain scheduled for next month to open a new embassy.
“The invitation has been extended and accepted,” the spokesman said, adding that no date had been confirmed for the visit. “The US is one of our oldest and most valued allies and our strong and deep partnership will endure.”
Mr Trump cancelled a trip to London scheduled for February to open a new embassy, saying he did not want to endorse what he understood was an Obama-era decision to move out of the old one.
“[The] reason I cancelled my trip to London is that I am not a big fan of the Obama Administration having sold perhaps the best located and finest embassy in London for ‘peanuts,’ only to build a new one in an off location for $1.2 billion,” Mr Trump said in a tweet late on Thursday.
“Bad deal. Wanted me to cut ribbon-No!” Mr Trump said.
The decision to acquire a new London embassy site on the south bank of the Thames was announced in 2008 under George W Bush along with the plans to put the Grosvenor Square site in upscale Mayfair up for sale.
During Prime Minister Theresa May’s US trip a year ago, she extended an invitation to Mr Trump to make a formal state visit by the end of 2017. Many British politicians have voiced their opposition to Mr Trump having a state visit which officials insist has not been cancelled.
“Many Londoners have made it clear that Donald Trump is not welcome here while he is pursuing such a divisive agenda,” London Mayor Sadiq Khan tweeted. “It seems he’s finally got the message.”
The American flag was this month removed from Grosvenor Square where the US embassy has been based since 1938 with the area known as “Little America” during World War Two, when the square also housed the military headquarters of General Dwight D Eisenhower.
In October 2008, the embassy was put up for sale and, the following year, was sold to Gulf investor Qatari Diar.
The purchase price was not disclosed. In 2009, it was also given “listed” status which limits changes that can be made to the building’s exterior because of its historical significance.
The new embassy on the south bank of the River Thames is a veritable fortress set back at least 30 meters from surrounding buildings, mostly newly-erected high-rise residential blocks, and incorporating living quarters for US Marines permanently stationed inside.
The $1 billion construction was funded by the sale of other properties in London.