Trump has ‘scrapped his visit to Britain’

DONALD Trump has scrapped plans to visit the UK next month, the Mail understands. The US president was expected to make his first trip to Britain since entering office, but UK government officials have been told he has gone cold on the idea.

No new date has been offered, raising the prospect of a major diplomatic snub.

One senior source suggested Mr Trump cancelled as he was unhappy about the arrangements and the scale of the visit.

The reversal comes despite Mr Trump telling British prime minister Theresa May last month that he would come to Britain in the New Year.

Preparations were advanced for a ‘working’ visit to officially open the new US embassy in London. The Mail understands this role will now be performed by US secretary of state Rex Tillerson. Mr Trump was also scheduled to hold talks with Mrs May in Downing Street, with February 26 and 27 marked in the diary.

Mr Trump was not due to meet Queen Elizabeth until a full state visit at a later date, and a second source said the lack of ‘bells and whistles’ and royal involvement during next month’s visit may have discouraged him.

Mr Trump has previously expressed concern about the likelihood of mass protests. Last year he told Mrs May he did not want to go ahead with a visit until the British public supported it.

The prime minister and the president clashed in November when she criticised his decision to re-tweet anti-Muslim propaganda from a far-right group, Britain First. In a rare public rebuke, she said: ‘I am very clear that retweeting from Britain First was the wrong thing to do.’ Mr Trump hit back on Twitter, saying: ‘Don’t focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom.’

They clashed again when Mrs May criticised his decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, calling it ‘unhelpful in terms of prospects for peace in the region’.

However, following a phone call between the pair on December 19, officials were bullish about the visit taking place.

The prospect of mass protests were raised last month after UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn urged his followers to turn out in force if Mr Trump visited the UK to send him a ‘clear message’.

Last night Downing Street declined to comment.