Protesters on streets as Trump heads north.

President insists he did not criticise Mrs May and hits out at ‘fake news’

Donald Trump apologised to Theresa May over an incendiary interview criticising her premiership and hailed UK-US relations as the “highest level of special”.

After intensive talks at Chequers, an emollient US President showered praise on the “incredible” Prime Minister and said she was “doing a fantastic job”.

The meeting took place in the wake of an explosive newspaper interview in which he said the prime minister’s Brexit plans would kill off a trade deal with America and Boris Johnson would be a “great prime minister”.

At a press conference later in the grounds of the PM’s country residence, Mr Trump insisted he “didn’t criticise” the prime minister and hit out at “fake news”.

The US president told Mrs May “whatever you do is OK with me” on Brexit, but urged her to “make sure we can trade together”.

Following their talks, Mr Trump and his wife Melania flew by helicopter for tea with the Queen at Windsor Castle, where they were greeted with a guard of honour from 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards.

The two world figures were due to spend around half an hour getting to know each other over afternoon tea, but it overran by almost 20 minutes.

The president and Mrs Trump then headed to Scotland, where he is expected to spend the weekend on a private visit to his golf resort at Turnberry in Ayrshire.

His departure for Scotland was delayed while he was interviewed aboard Air Force One by Piers Morgan for ITV.

Earlier, tens of thousands of protesters gathered in central London to denounce the visit for stoking “division along fault lines of fear and hatred”.

However, well away from the noisy demonstrations, Mr Trump and Mrs May took questions from reporters.

The president said Mrs May “can’t walk away” from exit talks with the European Union, though suggested she could use other methods to secure a good deal.

Mr Trump said he had given the PM a suggestion about how to come out on top in the talks but “she found it maybe too brutal”. However, he praised Mrs May as a “very tough negotiator” and described her as an “incredible woman” who is “doing a fantastic job”.

“She’s a very smart, very tough, very capable person and I would much rather have her as my friend than my enemy, that I can tell you,” he added.

The US president left Mrs May badly wounded when he criticised her negotiating style, lavished praise on Boris Johnson and attacked her Brexit plan in an interview with the Sun.

In the interview, Mr Trump said he would have carried out the Brexit negotiations “much differently” and claimed the prime minister did not listen to his advice.

He said: “If they do a deal like that, we would be dealing with the European Union instead of dealing with the UK, so it will probably kill the deal.”

Mr Trump said he apologised and she replied: “Don’t worry it’s only the press.”

Visits to a famous military academy, the Prime Minister’s official country residence, Windsor Castle to meet the Queen and, of course, one of his own golf courses. Donald Trump will have lapped up almost every minute of the pomp and ceremony of his official engagements in the UK.

Of course he will gloss over the protests that have taken place in almost every city across the country, particularly after he once again linked immigration to terrorism in Europe, prompting Mrs May to deliver a slight rebuke during their press conference.

He announced his arrival with an incendiary interview criticising the Conservative leader’s Brexit proposal before in his usual audacious style U-turning on his position while calling the words he was recorded saying as “fake news”.

Meanwhile, his son Eric has brought 40 business contacts to Turnberry, where they will meet the president during what has been called a private section of the official state visit. Trade, as was made perfectly clear during the Chequers press conference, is always first and foremost in Mr Trump’s mind and it is always on his terms.

Bearing all this in mind, the UK Government should consider carefully who it wants as dependable allies when trying to promote Britain as an open and outward looking country.

Those MPs urging Mrs May to follow the path of the president should do likewise.