LONDON: US President Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK has been pushed to 2018, a senior British government source told AFP, amid questions raised over the trip by politicians and the public.
British Prime Minister Theresa May extended the invitation to Trump when she visited Washington just days after his inauguration in January, but a date has yet to be set.
A spokesman for the prime minister’s office told Arab News that the UK government’s official position is unchanged, adding that “the timing of the visit will be announced in due course.”
Some have speculated that Trump is keen to defer the state visit, an occasion traditionally filled with pomp and involving a banquet with Queen Elizabeth II, amid concerns it could draw protests over his presidency.
The Chinese state visit to London by Xi Jinping in 2015 saw protests from a variety of groups, including Free Tibet activists and human rights protesters, which became a talking point during the visit.
“I certainly think any Donald Trump visit would be met with large protests in the UK, and that’s something they’d want to avoid,” Patrick Dunleavy, professor of political science at the London School of Economics, told Arab News. “In fact, the whole invitation was rash and risky on the part of the UK.”
Questions about the trip also arose after it got no mention in the Queen’s annual speech to Parliament in June, when it is customary for the monarch to list upcoming state visits.
But at the recent G-20 meeting in Hamburg, Trump confirmed he would be visiting, saying he “will be going to London.” Asked when, he replied, “We’ll work that out.”
Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National Party have all called for the state visit to be canceled, as have some from May’s own Conservative Party.
The Speaker of the House of Commons previously said he was “strongly opposed” to allowing Donald Trump to address members of parliament during the planned state visit.
More than 160 of Parliament’s 650 MPs have signed a parliamentary motion opposing an address by Trump, citing the president’s targeted travel ban and his comments on torture and women. A speech to both the House of Commons and Lords has been a feature of many previous state visits, including one by former US President Barack Obama in 2011.
More than 1.8 million members of the British public have signed an online petition saying Trump should not make the state visit as it “could cause embarrassment” to the Queen.
