Theresa May performs Donald Trump visit U-turn after backlash

PA Wire/PA Images - Credit: PA Wire/PA Images

Donald Trump’s controversial visit to the UK appears to have been booted firmly to the long grass.

There was no mention of the invite Theresa May offered The Donald during a gushing visit to the White House earlier this year in the Queen’s Speech.

The address to Parliament usually mentions planned state visits, but this edition only contains a reference to welcoming King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain in July. This Queen’s Speech lays down the legislative programme for the next two years suggesting it could be some time before the Twitter-addicted Leader of the Free World gets to meet Her Royal Highness.

It comes after the White House denied reports that Mr Trump told the Prime Minister he does not want to go ahead with the trip if it is going to lead to large-scale demonstrations.

His comments were reportedly made in a telephone call in ‘recent weeks’ but a White House spokeswoman said the state visit ‘never came up on the call’.

Downing Street refused to comment, saying only that the invitation, which was given by Mrs May on behalf of the Queen when she met Mr Trump in Washington in January, remained unchanged.

The decision to accord such a controversial president the honour of a state visit so soon after taking office was widely criticised at the time.

There was further criticism after Mr Trump attacked London Mayor Sadiq Khan over his response to the latest terror attacks on the capital.

When Mr Khan’s office said he had simply been saying people should not be alarmed by the additional police presence on the streets, Mr Trump accused him of making ‘pathetic excuses’, prompting the mayor to call for the visit to be dropped.