LONDON: US President Donald Trump will make a long-awaited visit to Britain on July 13, Downing Street announced Thursday, his first since taking power in January last year and likely to draw large protests.
The visit had been repeatedly delayed amid a series of diplomatic spats and fears it could be marred by anti-Trump demonstrations.
“The President of the United States will visit the UK on 13 July,” Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokesperson said in a statement, adding he would hold bilateral talks with the British leader.
May controversially offered Trump a state visit which would involve meeting Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace when she was the first foreign leader to visit him shortly after entering the White House.
The invitation provoked uproar in Britain, where the US president’s ‘America First’ agenda, including a proposed ban on immigration from a number of Muslim-majority countries, is unpopular.
British lawmakers called on May to withdraw the offer, while protesters have promised to turn out in record numbers reiterating the vows Thursday.
“Anybody any good at making placards?” British opposition lawmaker David Lammy asked cheekily on Twitter.
Amnesty International UK said Trump had overseen “a deeply disturbing human rights roll-back”.
We and thousands of our supporters will definitely be making our voices heard about this,” it added. Meanwhile, Guardian columnist Owen Jones, a prominent leftwing activist, called for “everybody out on the streets”.
