Donald Trump's state visit will take place 'next year'
It seems large-scale protests, petitions and opposition in Parliament are not enough to stop President Trump visiting.
Tuesday 11 July 2017 19:04, UK
Donald Trump's controversial state visit to the UK will take place next year, senior Government sources have told Sky News.
But it is possible the President - who owns two golf courses in Scotland - may make an unofficial visit before then, according to Government insiders.
While Theresa May continues to insist she is staying put in Downing Street, the timing of the visit may depend on how long she survives as Prime Minister.
The President said during the G20 summit in Hamburg last weekend that he and the Prime Minister had developed a "very special relationship".
It was reported last week that the President might make an unannounced visit to the UK at short notice after the G20 summit, possibly to one of his golf courses.
But the White House spokesman Sean Spicer later dismissed those reports, saying: "While he looks forward to visiting the UK, it will not be in the next two weeks."
A US official later cited a scheduling conflict as the reason for the delay.
The PM invited President Trump to visit the UK during her visit to Washington in January when their talks at the White House were overshadowed by pictures of him holding her hand.
But after the Commons Speaker John Bercow effectively vetoed a speech by the President to Parliament, a petition opposing the visit was signed by 1.85 million people and protest groups threatened mass demonstrations, the visit appeared to have been postponed indefinitely.
Significantly, there was no mention of a Trump state visit in the Queen's Speech opening a session of Parliament due to last two years, suggesting the visit had been postponed until 2019 at the earliest.
But after a 50-minute meeting with Theresa May during the G20 summit at the weekend, the President insisted he "will be going to London". Asked when, he replied: "We'll work that out."
If the President is to make an unofficial visit to the UK before his official state visit, dropping in on one of his golf courses in Scotland would appear to be one option.
He owns the championship course of Turnberry in Ayrshire, host to countless British Opens, and another in Aberdeenshire which is due to stage the Scottish Open in 2019.
Senior Government sources have confirmed that the UK is not due to host any major international summits like G7 or G20 in the near future which the President would be expected to attend.
But asked about a Trump visit, a No 10 spokesman said: "An invitation has been extended and accepted. The visit wasn't mentioned in the Queen's Speech because a date hasn't been fixed yet."