Donald Trump 'Fine' With Protests As He Lands in UK
HARD NEWS, Newspaper Column

Donald Trump ‘Fine’ With Protests As He Lands in UK

US President Donald Trump has arrived in the UK, having said he is “fine” about any protests held during his visit, saying Britons “like me a lot”.

Speaking earlier at the Nato summit, Mr Trump – who arrived in the UK shortly before 14:00 BST – referred to Britain as a “pretty hot spot right now”.

He will meet Theresa May later, who wants a post-Brexit trade deal – days after he said the UK was in “turmoil”.

Extra security has been put in place to police a number of planned protests.

Mr Trump, who will also spend time with the Queen during his two-day working visit, said: “I think they like me a lot in the UK; I think they agree with me on immigration…

“You see what’s going on throughout the world with immigration… I think that’s why Brexit happened.”

He said the British people “voted to break it up, so I imagine that’s what they’ll do” and “Brexit is Brexit”.

Mr Trump has recently been under fire for his own immigration policy, which resulted in the separation of immigrant families.

His visit comes as Mrs May publishes a White Paper setting out a blueprint for the UK’s relations with the EU.

Earlier this week Mr Trump said it was “up to the people” whether she stayed on after two cabinet ministers resigned within hours over her Brexit policy.

He added he had “always liked” Boris Johnson, who quit as foreign secretary.

Mr Trump travelled from a Nato summit in Brussels, where he said member countries have agreed to increase their military spending.

Mrs May said the UK visit would be an opportunity to boost trade links and strengthen co-operation on security.

But she also warned Mr Trump not to ignore the “malign behaviour” of Russia when he meets Vladimir Putin in Helsinki next week.

Mr Trump had joked earlier this week that his meeting with the Russian leader “may be the easiest” part of his European trip.

Along with trade and security links, Downing Street said the other key areas to be discussed between the two leaders included Brexit and the Middle East.

Ahead of Mr Trump’s visit, Mrs May said that when the UK leaves the European Union “there will be no alliance more important in the years ahead”.

Downing Street insisted Mrs May welcomed Mr Trump’s decision to “engage” with the Russian leader in the Finnish capital on Monday.

However, No 10 also made clear that she expected him to raise issues like the Salisbury nerve agent attack on former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia.

Mr Trump and his wife Melania will attend a dinner, hosted by Mrs May, at Blenheim Palace – the ancestral home of Sir Winston Churchill – on Thursday evening.

About 150 guests are understood to have agreed to attend the dinner, including cabinet members and business leaders.

Only one person, the digital entrepreneur and philanthropist Baroness Martha Lane-Fox, has publicly refused the invitation.

On Friday, Mrs May and Mr Trump will go to watch a joint counter-terrorism exercise by British and US special forces at a military base.

The pair will then travel to Chequers – the PM’s country residence in Buckinghamshire – for talks with the foreign secretary.

The president and first lady will travel to Windsor on Friday afternoon to meet the Queen, before flying to Scotland to spend the weekend at Mr Trump’s Turnberry golf resort. This part of the visit is being considered private.

The Police Federation has warned the visit will put “unquestionable pressure” on UK police forces.

It has also complained that 300 officers working during the visit will have to sleep on camp beds in a gymnasium that has no hot water and restricted access to hot food.

Labour MP Louise Haigh raised the issue in the House of Commons, claiming 100 female officers had just four toilets between them, and 300 male officers had just five toilets.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to protest against the president in London on Thursday and Friday – and in Glasgow on Friday.

Police forces from across the country have been asked to send officers to assist the Metropolitan Police.

Smaller protests are also expected to be held across the UK, including Devon, Dundee, Edinburgh, Belfast, Norwich, Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool.

Meanwhile, London Mayor Sadiq Khan has granted permission for a giant inflatable figure depicting Mr Trump as a baby to fly over Westminster for two hours on the second day of the president’s visit.

But the balloon will not be allowed to fly over his Turnberry golf course, Police Scotland has said.

Mr Trump’s friend and US media network boss Christopher Ruddy told BBC Radio 4 Today that he expects the US president will be “shocked” by the size of the protests.

Shaista Aziz, a Labour councillor in Oxford, and one of the organisers of the Together Against Trump protest in London said the demonstration was about saying “very clearly that we reject the policies of this administration”.

CULLED FROM BBCNEWS

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