Trump UK visit: Farage meets president as Tory leader hopefuls reject Trump’s demand NHS is opened to US firms
'Comprehensive' trade deal promised as US leader suggests American involvement in healthcare a possibility
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump has insisted the NHS would be “on the table” in any post-Brexit trade talks. “When you’re dealing with trade everything is on the table. So NHS or anything else, a lot more than that,” the US president said at a press conference with Theresa May.
He earlier promised, not for the first time, a “very substantial” post-Brexit trade deal with the UK as he met Ms May on the second day of his state visit, following a lavish royal banquet at Buckingham Palace. The leaders also discussed the role of Huawei in the UK’s 5G network.
Meanwhile, Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage has said he had a “good meeting” with the president at the US ambassador’s residence and that Mr Trump “really believes in Brexit”.
Mr Farage was photographed being driven into Winfield House on Tuesday afternoon.
He later tweeted: “Good meeting with President Trump - he really believes in Brexit and is loving his trip to London.”
Mr Farage has campaigned for years to take Britain out of the European Union and is one of Trump’s most prominent British supporters. The president has called him a friend.
Mr Farage’s newly founded Brexit Party was the big winner in last month’s European Parliament elections in Britain, scooping up support from voters angry that the UK has not left the EU.
He has criticised the prime minister's divorce deal with the bloc and said Britain should leave the EU without an agreement.
Mr Trump praised Ms May’s handling of Brexit on Tuesday, saying she had gotten a good deal.
Additional reporting by AP. Please allow a moment for the live blog to load
An American tourist passing through Trafalgar Square remonstrated with a protester holding an anti-Trump placard, writes Tom Batchelor.
Karen Byrd, 63, from North Carolina, said: "It upsets me that we’ve come to the UK and we see these protests against our president.
"We are proud of him. He has made mistakes and he needs to keep quiet on Twitter, but he has boosted our economy, he is against abortion."
Asked about Mr Trump's comments regarding Sadiq Khan and the Duchess of Sussex, she added: "He needs to keep his mouth shut. But it is what he does for our country that matters."
The protest march has now moved off.
The US embassy's unpaid congestion charge debt now stands at £12.6m, the Evening Standard has reported, the highest for an embassy in London.
That means the total has leapt by some £700,000 since your correspondent last reported on the matter in December 2017.
The levy was introduced in 2003 to slash traffic in central London and encourage the use of alternative transport. A discount is available for some low-emission vehicles.
But the Americans insist it is "a tax that, under international law, should not be imposed on the United States government". Transport for London disagrees, obviously, but has had no luck clawing back the money.
The Donald Trump baby blimp has now been lowered and is being deflated in Parliament Square.
A decision on whether to allow Huawei access to the UK's 5G network will be based on a "hard-headed" assessment of the risks, Number 10 has said.
Donald Trump is expected to press Theresa May to ban the Chinese telecoms giant from the next generation communications network as the pair hold talks in Downing Street on Tuesday.
Mr Trump's administration is urging allies not to use Huawei's 5G technology over fears that it could allow China to spy on sensitive data.
Earlier this week Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, said: "Our ask is that our allies and our partners and our friends don't do anything that will endanger our shared security interests or restrict our ability to share sensitive information."
The UK and US are part of the Five Eyes network of spies, alongside Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
Confirming Huawei would be discussed, a Downing Street spokeswoman said the issue was still under review but the UK would make a "hard-headed, technically-informed" judgement.
She said: "The PM will be setting out the UK position, we're obviously reviewing the right policy approach at the moment."
Additional reporting by PA
Here's an image from before the protest left Trafalgar Square that shows the scale of things.
Demonstrators against Donald Trump (Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters)
Jeremy Corbyn is expected to address demonstrators in Whitehall in about an hour and five minutes' time.
Twitter users are convinced that the Queen made a subtle dig at Donald Trump during his UK state visit, writes Sabrina Barr.
On Monday evening, the Queen hosted the US president and first lady for a banquet at Buckingham Palace.
The monarch dressed in cream for the formal occasion, donning a royal blue sash and wearing a tiara encrusted with rubies.
Some people have taken an especial interest in the Queen's headwear, the Burmese Ruby Tiara.
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