Manafort moved out of prison where he was treated like ‘VIP’ Trump says protests are ‘fine’ during visit to ‘hotspot’ Britain
Says will not interfere in the internal affairs of UK but ‘Brexit is Brexit’
LONDON: Insisting that Britons “like me a lot”, President Donald Trump arrived in London on Thursday for a four-day visit that seeks to reiterate the “special relationship” between the US and UK.
Most of Trump’s engagements are away from London, where thousands of people are taking to the streets to protest against his policies. A balloon depicting a baby Trump was allowed to fly over London by mayor Sadiq Khan. The six-metre balloon has also received permission to fly over Scotland, when Trump travels there for a private stay over the weekend.
Trump’s visit is not a state visit, but has been described as “official”.
Trump’s comments on Brexit and the UK made news before his arrival. He described the UK as a “hotspot” and a country in turmoil, referring to the recent resignations of cabinet ministers David Davis and Boris Johnson. However, he insisted he is “fine” with the protests planned.
Indirectly criticising May’s recent pro-EU Chequers plan on Brexit in Brussels, Trump, who favours Brexit, said he would not interfere in the internal affairs of the UK, but said: “I would say Brexit is Brexit.”
“The people voted to break it up so I imagine that is what they would do, but maybe they’re taking a different route. I’m not sure that’s what they voted for,” adding that he had been reading up closely on Brexit in recent days.
Hoping to delay his trial in Virginia on charges of bank fraud and money laundering, Paul Manafort instead managed this week to get himself transferred from a jail where prosecutors said he described his treatment as “VIP” to one where his lawyers claim he is worried about his safety.
Manafort, President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, has been incarcerated since June 15 in a regional jail in rural Virginia about two hours south of Washington. Prosecutors said on Wednesday that Manafort had “unique privileges” there, including a larger-than-average cell, “his own bathroom and shower facility, his own personal telephone and his own work space to prepare for trial.” He also was not required to wear a prison uniform and was allowed to use his laptop in his cell, they said.
But Manafort’s lawyers, in a motion that sought to delay his July 25 trial, argued in part that