The Free Press Journal

No red carpet welcome for Trump, says London Mayor

- AGENCIES

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has reiterated that US President Donald Trump will not be given an elaborate state visit when he comes to the United Kingdom next year for a state visit.

"State visits are different from a normal visit and at a time when the President of the USA has policies that many in our country disagree with, I am not sure it is appropriat­e for our government to roll out the red carpet," Khan said in an interview.

The delay to Trump’s visit comes amid concern that there will be mass protests against the President in the British capital.

Earlier this year, over 1.8 million people signed a petition seeking to block Trump's UK trip over fears that it would "cause embarrassm­ent to Her Majesty the Queen."

Trump met with UK Prime Minister Theresa May at the G20 summit in Hamburg and told reporters he would be visiting London.

May's offer of a state visit was made during her visit to Washington in January, just days after Trump's inaugurati­on.

Khan, who is the first Muslim mayor of a western capital city, however, did not rule out a meeting with the US President.

"If someone has views that I think can be changed I am ready to play my role. If you somehow think it is not possible to be a Muslim and a proud westerner I am happy to disabuse you of that idea, whether you are a reporter or Donald Trump," he said.

Khan and Trump's relationsh­ip is known to be a particular­ly rocky one, following Khan's opposition to Trump's decision to bar from the US people from a list of mainly Muslim countries.

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