Trump UK visit - LIVE: Theresa May calls for close trade ties with US as president warns Brexit plan would ‘kill’ deal
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Donald Trump has arrived in the UK to meet with Theresa May and the Queen on a four-day “working visit”. Air Force One touched down at Stansted Airport shortly before 2pm on Thursday and Mr Trump spent his first evening at a black tie event in Blenheim Palace.
The US president will largely avoid London during his time in the country as mass protests are expected against his “zero-tolerance” approach to immigration and divisive rhetoric.
Mr Trump has already ruffled feathers this week at a Nato summit in Brussels and is unlikely to escape further controversy while in Britain.
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The US President has claimed victory at a Nato summit at a news conference following an emergency session.
He said members of the military alliance "have substantially upped their commitment" and agreed to increase defence spending to 2 per cent of gross domestic product. He did not provide an exact time frame for the increase.
Persuading Nato allies to spend more on defence is one of Mr Trump’s key foreign policy proposals. Nato asks its members to set aside the equivalent of two per cent of their GDP, but only a handful of the 29 alliance members currently meet the target.
"We made a tremendous amount of progress today.To see the level of spirit in the room was really incredible ... they've stepped up," the President told journalists in Brussels.
"I told people I'd be very unhappy if they didn't up their commitments significantly. Yesterday I let them know I was unhappy and now they have substantially upped their commitment."
Mr Trump has been asked how he feels about the protests expected to greet him in the UK.
"I think it's fine I think they like me a lot in the UK I think they agree with me on immigration," he said. "I think that's why Brexit happened."
But he later acknowledged he was "going to a pretty hot spot with lots of resignations".
He said he thought his forthcoming meeting with the Russian President in Helsinki on Monday would be easy compared to the visit to Britain and the Nato summit.
He then warned "immigration is taking over Europe".
Asked about Brexit, the US President said: "It's not for me to be saying what they should be doing in the UK."
He ended the press conference saying he would be leaving for the UK at around 12.30pm
Police securing Donald Trump's visit to the UK are being forced to sleep in unacceptable conditions worse than cells, an organisation representing officers has said.
Photographs show cramped lines of camp beds filling a gymnasium and sleeping mats on the floor of a squash court set up for officers to rest on between long shifts policing the US President's trip.
The Police Federation has complained of the conditions its members are facing during the operation, which will see officers from across the country enlisted at a cost of up to £10m.
Simon Kempton, the organisation's deputy treasurer in England and Wales, said 300 officers are expected to sleep in the gymnasium with no hot water and restricted access to warm food.
“These officers have been asked to leave their families to travel to another part of the country to help protect the public and the president and all they expect in return is to be treated with some dignity and respect,” he said.
“What's clear is that anyone overnight who has been arrested by the police would be put in accommodation far superior to what the officers are staying in.”
He said officers at that site are only averaging three to four hours' sleep ahead of 15-hour shifts because of the conditions.
The Metropolitan Police has just announced that conditions will be imposed on a procession welcoming Donald Trump scheduled to take place in London on Saturday — but not on protests against the US President's visit to the UK.
The force said the measures were necessary "due to concerns of serious public disorder and disruption to the community".
The protest group Welcome Trump said it will hold a procession from the US Embassy to Whitehall, where it will join a march supporting jailed far-right leader Tommy Robinson.
Participants in these marches are only allowed to assemble between noon and 6.30pm in Parliament Square within a police barrier, or risk prosecution.
"A recent event involving the ‘Free Tommy Robinson’ group on 9 June resulted in serious violence in central London, with bottles, metal barriers and other objects thrown at police officers. Five officers suffered injuries and there were nine arrests," a statement released by the Met said.
"A significant policing operation will be in place for the duration of both events on 14 July, which is designed to prevent trouble from flaring up and facilitate peaceful protest, whilst ensuring Londoners are not unduly impacted.
"Dedicated teams of highly flexible officers will be on standby at key locations in the capital. Police liaison officers will be present to assist with engagement for peaceful protest."
Chief Superintendent Elaine Van-Orden said: “We police hundreds of public events and demonstrations in Central London every year and we always facilitate peaceful protest. We have such serious concerns about this event on Saturday 14 July, that we have made the decision to impose conditions under the Public Order Act.
"We have a duty to ensure that the community can go about their daily business not unduly impacted by demonstrations taking place.
"Our message is simple: if you wish to protest peacefully, that is your right and we want to work with you. If you commit criminal acts or breach the conditions of the event, you are liable to be arrested.”
The conditions will also apply to demonstrators opposing the Free Tommy Robinson march, but not to the Stand Up to Racism march in Old Palace Yard, set to commence at 1pm in Parliament Street.
Here is our full story on Donald Trump's final press conference at Nato. He said he had secured commitments from other member countries to increase their defence spending to 2 per cent of GDP.
French president Emmanuel Macron has since disputed reports his American counterpart had threatened to leave the alliance if the target was not met, and also denied any countries had agreed to boost spending beyond 2 per cent.
Alliance members agreed in 2014 that they would all meet the 2 per cent target by 2024. The lack of spending by some allies has been a complaint of the US' for years.
Will this offhand comment add an extra frisson to protests against Donald Trump's impending arrival in the UK?
The US president interrupted a Croatian journalist to congratulate him on his national team's victory over England in last night's World Cup semi-final.
He also dredged up a now-classic Trump administration phrase in a jokey reply to the reporter's question.
Another moment in the press conference in which Mr Trump may have made his visit that bit more difficult - commenting on Theresa May's Brexit plans.
Posts on air traffic-related Twitter accounts suggest Mr Trump, aboard Air Force One, is now approaching Stansted Airport...
Live television pictures provide a more concrete suggestion...
The souped-up jet is now circling on approach to Stansted.
For more details about the features on board Air Force One, have a look at this story from January.
It is due to receive a multi-million-dollar upgrade while more advanced replacements are created.
But the current jet is no slouch, as our story shows.
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