U.S. President Donald Trump has confirmed that he will not be visiting the UK in February amid fears he would not be made welcome.
President Trump was scheduled to visit Britain to open the new US embassy.
But after speculation yesterday that he had backed away from the idea, he took to Twitter this morning to confirm the cancellation of his visit.
Writing on Twitter, Trump said he thought the embassy’s move from Grosvenor Square to Nine Elms in south London, was a “bad deal”.
He wrote: “Reason I cancelled my trip to London is that I am not a big fan of the Obama Administration having sold perhaps the best located and finest embassy in London for ‘peanuts’ only to build a new one in an off location for 1.2 billion dollars.”
“Bad deal. Wanted me to cut ribbon-NO!”
Downing Street said no date has been confirmed for any visit by President Trump and that the opening of the US embassy “is a matter for the US”.
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The “strong and deep” partnership between Britain and the US “will endure” despite Trump’s cancellation, a spokesman added.
However, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan – who has clashed with the president in the past – said the US president had “got the message” that many Londoners were staunchly opposed to his policies and actions.
Khan said: “His visit next month would have without doubt been met by mass peaceful protests.
“This just reinforces what a mistake it was for Theresa May to rush and extend an invitation of a state visit in the first place.
“Let’s hope that Donald Trump also revisits the pursuit of his divisive agenda.”
