Home secretary Sajid Javid was the only senior cabinet member not invited to a lavish state banquet in honour of U.S. President Donald Trump at Buckingham Palace.
Mr Javid was the only holder of a great state – which include prime minister, foreign secretary, home secretary and chancellor – to be left out the prestigious dinner hosted by the Queen.
The Conservative leadership candidate being omitted from the guest list has raised concerns in Westminster, as both rivals Michael Gove, the environment secretary, and Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, were among the attendees.
Mr Javid had previously condemned the President Trump for sharing Islamophobic tweets from the far-right group Britain First in 2017.
His friends were not shocked by the omission, stating that Mr Javid may not have been invited because he had been confused with Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, who was also not invited to the banquet.
A friend told the Daily Mail: “Maybe Downing Street was worried the president might confuse him with the other son of a bus driver.”
President Trump has an ongoing vendetta with Mayor Khan.
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His first act upon arrival in London was to label Mayor Khan a “stone cold loser” after the Labour mayor accused him of normalising up the rhetoric of “20th Century fascists”.
Mr Trump tweeted: “Sadiq Khan, who by all accounts has done a terrible job as mayor of London, has been foolishly “nasty” to the visiting president of the United States, by far the most important ally of the United Kingdom.
“He is a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me.”
The state banquet was one of the most important events of President Trump’s three-day state visit to the UK, with 170 guests attending from the royal family, leading industries and political establishment.
The guest list for the banquet was finalised by Buckingham Palace, with contributions from the government, as well as the American embassy.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “The invitations to the state banquet were organised and led by Buckingham Palace.”
Invitations are issued by the Lord Steward on behalf of the Queen.
