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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Trump arrives at Blenheim Palace for dinner with Theresa May

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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Key Points

• US President touches down at Stansted airport 
• Mass protests, including giant inflatable 'Baby Trump', expected in London
• Met Police to restrict 'Welcome Trump' procession
• US president says May's Brexit plan is 'not what people voted for'
• Donald Trump arrives at Blenheim Palace for a black tie dinner with Theresa May
• US president says May's Brexit plan could 'kill' post-Brexit trade deal

[12 July 2018 20:56 · Adam Withnall]

There has been some confusion over what exactly was on Theresa May's arm. Turns out it is a diabetes monitoring device.

[12 July 2018 20:58 · Adam Withnall]

An impressive number of protesters at Blenheim Palace this evening. Ms May is using the dinner at Winston Churchill's birthplace to attempt to woo the president into a future trade deal.

[12 July 2018 21:19 · Tom Batchelor]

[12 July 2018 22:02 · Tom Batchelor]

Still no sign of the Trumps and Mays following their Blenheim Palace dinner. The president and first lady are due to fly back to London this evening where they are staying at the US ambassador's residence in Regent's Park.

After spending the night at Winfield House Mr Trump will join the PM at a military base on Friday to observe a joint counter-terrorism exercise involving UK and US special forces.

They will hold talks at the prime minister's country residence of Chequers on Friday where Russia, Brexit and the Middle East will top the agenda.

Mr Trump will then travel to Windsor Castle to meet the Queen before heading to Scotland for a private part of the four-day visit, ahead of travelling to Helsinki for a summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

[12 July 2018 22:23 · Tom Batchelor]

[12 July 2018 22:31 · Tom Batchelor]

The Sun's political editor, Tom Newton Dunn, appears to have secured an interview with the US president, who reportedly told him Theresa May ignored his advice on how to secure the best Brexit deal.  

[12 July 2018 23:09 · Tom Batchelor]

[12 July 2018 23:26 · Tom Batchelor]

Here are the full quotes from Mr Trump, who spoke to The Sun before he left Brussels for the four-day UK visit, on May's handling of Brexit:

“I would have done it much differently. I actually told Theresa May how to do it but she didn’t agree, she didn’t listen to me.

“She wanted to go a different route.

“I would actually say that she probably went the opposite way. And that is fine.

“She should negotiate the best way she knows how. But it is too bad what is going on.”

[12 July 2018 23:45 · Tom Batchelor]

The Trumps have left Blenheim Palace and are on their way back to London. After the president's latest comments, that could have been an awkward dinner...

[12 July 2018 23:58 · Tom Batchelor]

A couple more lines from Trump's extraordinary interview, this time on immigration to Europe:

Allowing the immigration to take place in Europe is a shame.

I think it changed the fabric of Europe and, unless you act very quickly, it’s never going to be what it was and I don’t mean that in a positive way.

So I think allowing millions and millions of people to come into Europe is very, very sad.

I think you are losing your culture. Look around. You go through certain areas that didn’t exist ten or 15 years ago.