King invites Trump for 'unprecedented' second state visit

US President Donald Trump has been invited to the UK for a 2nd authorities sojourn by the King.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer utilized his travel to the White House to contiguous Trump with the invitation missive from King Charles.

Sir Keir said the president's past authorities sojourn successful 2019 had been a "tremendous success" and that the invitation for a 2nd sojourn was "truly historic" and "unprecedented".

Speaking to reporters successful the Oval Office aft speechmaking the letter, Trump said helium accepted the invitation and that it would beryllium an "honour" to sojourn the "fantastic" country.

He added that King Charles was a "beautiful man, a fantastic man".

Traditionally second-term US presidents are not offered a authorities sojourn and person alternatively been invited for beverage oregon luncheon with the monarch astatine Windsor Castle.

King Charles' missive projected a gathering to sermon details of the authorities sojourn astatine either Dumfries House oregon Balmoral, some successful Scotland, a state to which Trump has connections.

His parent was calved and brought up connected the Hebridean land of Lewis. This twelvemonth helium is readying to unfastened a caller play people successful Aberdeenshire, to beryllium named aft his mother.

The letter, which Trump showed to the cameras, read: "Quite isolated from this presenting an accidental to sermon a wide scope of issues of communal interest, it would besides connection a invaluable accidental to program a historical 2nd authorities sojourn to the United Kingdom.

"As you volition cognize this is unprecedented by a US president. That is wherefore I would find it adjuvant for america to beryllium capable to discuss, together, a scope of options for determination and programme content.

"In truthful doing, moving together, I cognize we volition further heighten the peculiar narration betwixt our 2 countries of which we are some truthful proud."

Trump joked that helium would person to cheque if the signature was real.

At a associated quality league later, Trump said a commercialized woody betwixt the US and UK could hap "very quickly" and could spot the UK avoiding the benignant of tariffs the president has been threatening connected different countries.

Sir Keir said the 2 countries would statesman enactment connected a caller economical woody which would beryllium centred connected the imaginable of artificial intelligence.

During his sojourn Sir Keir besides hopes to power Trump arsenic helium seeks to scope a bid woody betwixt Ukraine and Russia.

Speaking connected the level to the US, Sir Keir told reporters that a woody would not halt Vladimir Putin from invading Ukraine again, unless the US were capable to supply information guarantees.

Asked if the US could connection specified support, Trump said a projected woody with Ukraine implicit entree to captious minerals would supply "a backstop".

"We are a backstop due to the fact that we volition beryllium implicit there, we volition beryllium moving successful the country," helium said.

Since becoming premier minister, Sir Keir, who had antecedently been captious of the president, has sought to physique a adjacent narration with Trump.

However, he did consciousness compelled to contradict the US president erstwhile helium accused Volodymyr Zelensky of being a dictator.

Asked astir his dictator comments, Trump said: "Did I accidental that? I can't judge I said that. Next question."

Pressed implicit whether helium would o.k. the UK's imaginable woody to manus implicit the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, Trump said: "We're going to person immoderate discussions astir that precise soon, and I person a feeling it's going to enactment retired precise well.

"I deliberation we'll beryllium inclined to spell on with your country,"

In an interrogation aft arriving successful the US connected Wednesday, Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the arguable woody would not spell ahead unless the US supported it.

Under the proposal, the UK would cede sovereignty of the Chagos archipelago to Mauritius but would inactive beryllium capable to usage 1 of the islands, Diego Garcia, which includes a UK-US subject airbase.