United Kingdom blames protests as Trump cancels trip
- by Thibaud Popelin
- in Monde
- — Jan 13, 2018
Reason I canceled 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.
Just south of the River Thames, the cube-shaped embassy building is in sight of Westminster and part of a £15 billion, 561-acre regeneration project set to transform one of the South Bank's last remaining industrial stretches.
Yet on Friday the U.S. embassy in London joined British officials in rebutting his claims.
The study said that in a no-deal scenario, the industry that fares the worst will be financial and professional services, with as many as 119,000 fewer jobs nationwide.
Mr Johnson told MPs: "I think Her Majesty the Queen is well capable to of taking this American president - or indeed any American president - in her stride, as she has done over six remarkable decades".
London Mayor Sadiq Khan paid tribute to 26/11 victims at a memorial inside the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai on Monday.
But a full-blown state visit replete with golden carriages and pomp has been deferred amid the threat of huge anti-Trump protests.
While a working visit, would include a meeting with May and other diplomatic formalities like opening the embassy. In December, Johnson said he was looking forward to welcoming the president.
"We are still working with our United Kingdom allies to find a date for a visit for the invitation that was offered and accepted, " she said Friday.
In January previous year, Mrs May was the first foreign leader to visit Mr Trump in the White House.
In the meantime, the relationship between May and Trump has come under strain.
MPs have repeatedly called for the offer of a state visit for the US President to be withdrawn following his crackdown on immigration from majority-Muslim countries and promotion of far-right group Britain First on Twitter.
Trump's cancellation was met with humour on social media, with parodies of the president's tweet trending on Twitter.
Many Londoners have made it clear that Donald Trump is not welcome here while he is pursuing such a divisive agenda. "He's scared at the hundreds of thousands of people that will be here, peacefully protesting against his visit because of his racist and his misogynistic views", said Labour MP Marsha de Cordova. Britain's foreign secretary Boris Johnson reminded critics of the importance of United States investment and blamed Labour politicians for endangering the transatlantic relationship.
But British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson suggested the decision was prompted by the opposition to Trump in Britain, and warned such critics "seem determined to put this crucial relationship at risk". We will not allow US-UK relations to be endangered by some puffed up...
