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Conor Coyle Sharecast News
03 Jul, 2017 12:18 03 Jul, 2017 14:54

Government preparing for surprise Trump visit, reports say

Theresa May’s government is reportedly planning to welcome US President Donald Trump for a surprise visit in the coming weeks.

According to The Times, Trump may make an unofficial visit to one of his Scottish golf courses between the G20 summit in Hamburg and another trip to France.

Trump had planned a state visit to the UK during the summer, but protests organised in reaction to the visit have reportedly left Trump uneasy at the thought of the trip.

After the terror attack in London last month, mayor Sadiq Khan called for Trump's planned state visit to the UK to be cancelled after a series of tweets from the US President appeared to misinterpret a statement made by Khan in response to the killings.

Downing Street denied on Monday that any specific plans had been made for a visit from Trump.

"I’m not aware of any plans for the president to visit the UK in the next few weeks," a government spokesperson said. "We have extended an invitation [to Trump for a state visit] that has been accepted and we will set out plans in due course."

May did not include any mention of a state visit from the US President during the Queen’s Speech, leading to speculation that he would not make a visit at all.

Despite its omission from the Queen’s Speech, foreign secretary Boris Johnson said the planned state visit to the UK would still go ahead once a date was confirmed with the White House.

Anti-Trump campaigners in the UK have said they will prepare for such a visit in order to organise demonstrations against the former property developer and reality TV host.

In January, a petition to stop Trump's state visit gained more than 1m signatures after his executive order banned people from mainly Muslim countries and refugees from Syria from entering the US.

'Stop Trump' campaigner and Guardian columnist Owen Jones appealed to his followers on Twitter on Sunday, encouraging people to protest against Trump, whom he described as a 'bigot'.

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