Donald Trump state visit: Why is inviting the new President to Britain so controversial?

The protests across the country last night were partly sparked by the invite for Donald Trump to come to Britain on a prestigious state visit later this year.

Prime Minister Theresa May made the announcement last week but the Government is facing widespread calls for the trip to be downgraded or cancelled after Mr Trump temporarily banned nationals from seven mainly Muslim countries from entering the US.

Here’s why the controversial trip is fuelling anger…

How did Mr Trump’s invitation come about?

Theresa May was given the honour of becoming the first foreign leader to meet Mr Trump after his inauguration as President when she travelled to the US last week. Amid a backdrop of Brexit and an economic need to boost global trade links, Mrs May was keen to cement a new “special relationship” with the US and used her trip to extend to Mr Trump an invitation from the Queen for a state visit to the UK this year.

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Is it normal for a US President to be invited so soon after their inauguration?

No. Britain has previously held off from offering a state visit until well into a president’s term in office. Barack Obama only received an invitation after 758 days, while it took 978 days before his predecessor, George W Bush, was offered a state visit. It took just seven days for Mr Trump to receive the invite.

Why is it controversial?

The Queen has met every American president of her reign so far except Lyndon B Johnson but only Mr Bush in 2003 and Mr Obama in 2011 have been treated to a grand state visit, which comes with the pomp and pageantry of a ceremonial welcome and an opulent state banquet. Extending the exceptional honour to such a controversial figure as Mr Trump has sparked concerns that the Queen could be put in a difficult position during the trip. It also comes amid mass opposition in Britain to Mr Trump’s immigration ban, announced on the same day he held talks with Mrs May in the Oval Office.

How have people reacted?

An online petition calling for the visit to be downgraded has garnered more than 1.6 million signatures and tens of thousands joined protests against the ban and the state visit across the UK. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was joined by senior Tory MPs, London Mayor Sadiq Khan and other opposition politicians in calling for the state visit to be cancelled in light of the travel ban. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was forced to reject descriptions of Mr Trump as a “fascist” after he gained exemptions from the travel ban for Britons.

Why is Mrs May under pressure?

The PM was dubbed “Theresa the appeaser” by a Labour MP as she faced growing demands to say whether she was briefed about the travel ban by Mr Trump’s aides while she was in Washington. Mrs May repeatedly refused to condemn the ban before Downing Street eventually released a statement saying she “disagreed” with it, and she has stood by the decision to invite Mr Trump for a state visit. Downing Street was also forced to dismiss suggestions that it had “blamed” the Foreign Office for the invitation after saying its obscure committee for state visits, which includes a Number 10 representative, had recommended the offer.

Will this be the first controversial state visit?

No. In 1978 Romania’s Nicolae Ceausescu was the first Communist head of state to be given the honour, at a time when his country was known as one of the most corrupt and oppressive of the Soviet Union’s Cold War satellite nations. Mr Bush’s visit in 2003, months after the invasion of Iraq, provoked protests by tens of thousands, while the visits of Chinese leaders in the 21st century have sparked criticism of police handling of demonstrations.

What happens next and is the visit likely to be downgraded?

No, but MPs including senior Tory Sarah Wollaston are calling on Parliament to ensure Mr Trump does not address MPs and peers in the prestigious Westminster Hall. Mr Trump’s visit is highly likely to inspire mass protests and the resulting cost to the taxpayer of providing of security measures – already high for uncontroversial US Presidents – could cause a stir.

Top pic: Rex