Theresa May faces high-level pressure to axe Donald Trump visit over Sadiq Khan comments

Theresa May and Donald Trump
Olivier Douliery/Pool/EPA
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Theresa May came under high-level pressure to delay Donald Trump’s state visit today amid anger over the President’s behaviour following the London Bridge attacks.

Senior former diplomat Lord Ricketts said the official invitation could not be rescinded but should be “left on the table” for the time being.

The intervention of the respected life peer - who served as head of the Foreign Office and as Britain’s first National Security Adviser - follows outrage that Mr Trump chose to attack Mayor of London Sadiq Khan within hours of the London Bridge and Borough Market atrocity.

Mr Khan called the president “ignorant” and “wrong” in interviews today his strongest remarks since the latest row began, and said the visit should be cancelled.

Lord Ricketts said the Royal invitation should never have been offered in the first place.

Mayor Sadiq Khan with Met chief Cressida Dick
Jeremy Selwyn

Asked if it should be torn up, he said: “I think it is hard to rescind it now. I think it can perhaps be left on the table and perhaps activated later.”

He said he was in favour of Trump coming on an ordinary visit “to understand the fibre of this country and see for himself the determination and resilience not to be cowed by these terrorist attacks. But I would leave a state visit for later.”

Mr Trump tweeted after the murders on Saturday night with mockery of Mr Khan’s appeal to Londoners not to be alarm by an increased police presence on the streets and transport system.

When critics rounded on him, saying he had not understood Mr Khan was talking about the police presence and not the terrorist threat, the president responded: “Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his ‘no reason to be alarmed’ statement.”

But foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said he had seen “no reason” to rescind the invitation for a state visit after President Trump’s tweets.

“I do not wish to interpose myself between the Mayor of London and the President of the United States,” he said.

A US Conference of Mayors representing more than 1,400 cities said it stood “united” with Mr Khan following the attacks and praised his leadership.

New York City mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted: “Mayor Sadiq Khan is doing an extraordinary job supporting Londoners in a time of pain. President Trump’s attack on him is unacceptable.”

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