Welcome the president

It is almost certainly too much to ask, but might it be possible to extend a welcome to the president of the United States when he visits in June, without the usual suspects on the juvenile Left disrupting the occasion?

The relationship with America is of critical importance to the UK. It is our closest and most reliable ally. Donald Trump will be in the country as a guest of the Queen.

Arguably, the full pomp and circumstance of a state visit was too readily promised by Theresa May on her first trip to meet Mr Trump after his inauguration. Indeed, it had been planned originally for 2017 but was downgraded to an official visit last year following demands, including from the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, that the state element should be withdrawn.

But having been promised by Mrs May, it would have been an insult not to confirm the offer. It is fitting that it will coincide with D-day commemorations both here and in France, which should serve to remind critics of Mr Trump that the office transcends the individual.

The same could be said of the Speakership of the Commons. John Bercow evidently has a personal animus towards Mr Trump; but it is not for him to issue unilateral decrees about whether the president should be afforded the honour of addressing both Houses, as he appears inclined to do.

Some people will never be reconciled to this particular president, though, as he might well win a second term, they had better get used to him. One thing is clear: the British national interest is best served by underpinning this country’s most important alliance through a state visit.