Donald Trump UK visit: US President to come to Britain on Friday, July 13

Donald Trump is to visit the UK on Friday, July 13, it has been announced.

The long-awaited and controversial trip is expected to be a "working visit" rather than a full-blown state occasion.

The US President will hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Theresa May during the trip, Britain's ambassador to the US said.

Sir Kim Darroch, tweeted: "Delighted that President @realDonaldTrump will visit the UK on 13 July and hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister May."

Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesman confirmed the visit.

"The President of the United States will visit the UK on July 13. He will hold bilateral talks with the Prime Minister during his visit. Further details will be set out in due course," he said.

The announcement comes after French President Emmanuel Macron enjoyed a high-profile state visit to the US this week in which the two leaders praised the depth of their relationship.

Other planned visits to Britain by Mr Trump were postponed amid warnings he would be greeted by huge protests in London.

He cancelled a visit to the UK to open the new American embassy, criticising its move from Grosvenor Square in the prestigious Mayfair district of central London to an "off location" at Nine Elms, south of the Thames.

The president blamed the cost of the new embassy and its location south of the River Thames, saying it was a "bad deal".

Plans for a working visit to the UK in 2018 were announced when Mr Trump met Mrs May at Davos in January.

The July 13 date follows the Nato summit which the president is due to attend in Brussels on the previous days.

The expectation of demonstrations is also believed to have played a part in the postponement of a state visit mooted for 2017.

That trip - which would involve lavish ceremonies and a stay with the Queen at Buckingham Palace - has been put off indefinitely, though Number 10 insists the invitation stands.

Even Mr Trump's supporters have urged him to stay away from London in an effort to avoid mass demonstrations.

In a letter to the US President, six conservative groups recommend he should instead focus his visit on his "ancestral home" of Scotland, including a meeting with the Queen at Balmoral.

The letter to Mr Trump was signed by the heads of conservative thinktanks the Bow Group, Bruges Group, Parliament Street and the Freedom Association, as well as the chairman of Republicans Overseas Scotland and a contributor to ThinkScotland.

They told the president the political and media establishment in London was "far out of touch" with the feelings of ordinary people outside the capital, many of whom "strongly support" his leadership.

"Your ancestral homeland of Scotland represents a powerful bond between you and Britain, and given the nature of the climate in London, it is a superior destination," they said.

"As you know, the Royal Estate of Balmoral Castle sits in Scotland's Cairgorms National Park, thus allowing you to make a full state visit as the guest of the Her Majesty the Queen.

"Scotland and the North of England also offer a variety of locations where you would be able to speak directly to ordinary British people and witness the true level of support that exists for you and the special relationship between the US and the UK."

Mr Trump, whose mother was born on the Isle of Lewis, made frequent visits to Scotland before becoming president.

His last trip came during the presidential campaign in June 2016, when he visited his golf resorts.