Donald Trump’s long-awaited visit to Britain will happen on July 13, it was confirmed today.
The US President will come to the UK for talks with Theresa May after travelling to Europe for a NATO summit.
The confirmation of the working trip – which will not have all the pomp and ceremony of a state visit – comes after months of difficult wrangling between the White House and Downing Street over the plans.
There had been speculation that the prospect of mass protests on the streets might scupper the idea.
But the PM’s spokesman said this evening: ‘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.’
Ministers will be hoping that the fact Mr Trump is coming on Friday 13th is not an unlucky omen.
US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are thought to be eager to visit Britain – but finalising the details of a trip has proved tricky
The new dates for a so-called working visit by Mr Trump will be a boost to Mrs May and a sign that relations between Downing Street and the White House have improved
Theresa May, pictured in Downing Street today with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, will welcome Mr Trump on July 13
There had been speculation that the prospect of mass protests on the streets might scupper the idea (file image of a demo against Trump in 2016)
The details of the itinerary for the trip have yet to be released.
There has been speculation that the talks with Mrs May will take place at her Chequers country retreat rather than Downing Street.
Mr Trump could also meet the Queen or other senior members of the Royal Family, even though it is not a state visit.
Officials will be keen to roll out the red carpet while also minimising the prospect of protests.
The President is expected to attend the Nato summit in Brussels on July 11 and 12 and travel on to the UK afterwards.
Some Tory MPs were jubilant at the news. Backbencher Nigel Evans told MailOnline: ‘I am really pleased he is coming particularly so soon after Macron’s red carpet treatment in Washington.
‘We should never take the Special Relationship for granted. We know the Left are going to be fuming that he is coming to the UK.
‘It is pathetic. The fact is that these are the same people who cheered Obama when he said before the EU referendum that we would be at the back of the queue for a trade deal.
‘Trump is a man who loves the UK.’
In a sign of the stormy reception Mr Trump could face, Amnesty International spokeswoman Kate Allen said: ‘When Donald Trump arrives on these shores, we and thousands of our supporters will very definitely be making our voices heard.
‘In the 15 months of his presidency, we’ve seen a deeply disturbing human rights roll-back – including the discriminatory travel ban, his reckless announcement on Jerusalem, and harmful policies on refugees, women’s rights and climate change.’
British Prime Minister Theresa May and U.S. President Donald Trump famously held hands as they walked along The Colonnade of the West Wing at The White House on January 27, 2017 in Washington, DC.
Mr Trump’s visit to Britain, which was first mooted when he took office in January last year, has suffered repeated cancellations and delays.
He was due to come to the UK in February to open the new US embassy in London. But the White House went cold on the idea and cancelled at the last moment.
The Prime Minister was among the first foreign leaders to visit the White House. However, since then, the relationship between the leaders has suffered turbulent moments.
They clashed last year over Mr Trump’s tweets sharing anti-Muslim propaganda from a far-Right group called Britain First.
The President also had a run-in with London Mayor Sadiq Khan over the terror threat to the capital.
The new dates for a so-called working visit will be a boost to Mrs May and a sign that relations between Downing Street and the White House have improved.
The two leaders spoke repeatedly and at length earlier this month as they discussed their response to the chemical weapons attacks on Douma in Syria.
Ministers have discussed plans for Mr Trump to meet the Queen at secluded Balmoral Castle (above) before visiting one of two golf courses in Aberdeenshire and Ayrshire
Mr Trump could also meet the Queen or other senior members of the Royal Family, even though it is not a state visit
British fighter jets joined the US and France in carrying out bombing raids on regime military targets.
There is still no fixed date for an official state visit, which was offered by Mrs May when she visited Washington in January last year.
Mr Trump has developed close ties with Emmanuel Macron of France.
He was invited to be guest of honour at the Bastille Day celebrations last year, when his 24-hour visit was topped off with a military parade.
He and his wife Melania dined with the French President and his wife Brigitte at the Eiffel Tower.
UK diplomats have become concerned about the French stealing a march on relations with the US.
This week Mr Trump hosted President Macron, the first state visit by a foreign leader since he entered the White House.
Ministers have discussed plans for Mr Trump to meet the Queen at Balmoral Castle before visiting one of his two golf courses in Aberdeenshire and Ayrshire.
More than a million people signed a petition last year calling for Mr Trump’s state visit – which could have included a stay at Buckingham Place – to be cancelled
Officials believe using the Royal Family’s remote estate would prevent embarrassing scenes where he is confronted by thousands of demonstrators.
Mr Trump is said to have expressed an interest in playing a round of golf at the Queen’s nine-hole course at the Aberdeenshire castle.
The President had been due to open the new £1billion US embassy at Nine Elms in south London in February.
He said he had dropped the visit because the old embassy in Mayfair had been sold on the cheap.
Jeremy Corbyn has said Mr Trump should not be invited and urged his followers to turn out in force if the US President visited the UK – to send him a ‘clear message’.
More than a million people signed a petition last year calling for the state visit to be cancelled.