- Theresa May omits state visit from Donald Trump in her Queen’s Speech. State visits for the coming year are normally listed by the Queen. This year’s speech covers government business for the next two years. Trump was reportedly put off by huge street protests against his visit.
LONDON – The UK government has put on hold plans to welcome US President Donald Trump to the UK for at least the next two years, it was confirmed on Wednesday.
The US president was originally scheduled to visit Britain this summer, but he postponed his trip until the autumn following huge public protests across the country.
The visit has now been dropped for the foreseeable future, however, with Prime Minister Theresa May omitting it in her Queen’s Speech, which covers the government’s plans for the next two years.
The only state visit listed in the speech is a visit in July from the king and queen of Spain.
Traditionally all planned state visits for the period covered by the speech are listed by the Queen in advance.
The decision not to include Trump's visit adds credence to earlier reports that the president was unwilling to visit the UK while the threat of further protests against him remained.
Trump reportedly told May in a phone call that he would not undertake a visit until the British public opinion turned.
The prospect of a visit from the president has become a major controversy in the UK. In February the House of Commons Speaker John Bercow gave a speech revealing that he planned to bar Trump from speaking in Parliament because of the president's attempted travel ban and "our opposition to racism and to sexism".
Watch Bercow applauded after calling to bar Trump
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