Trump UK visit: Jeremy Corbyn accuses the government of offering US President 'red carpet welcome' despite him putting 'millions of lives' at risk

As US president arrives in the UK, Labour leader says Tories should not be 'rewarding' the 'politics of division'

Jeremy Corbyn has accused Donald Trump of putting the lives of millions of people at risk as he criticised the government for welcoming the US president to the UK.

Speaking as Mr Trump landed in the UK to kick off a four-day trip, the Labour leader said Theresa May was wrong to be "rewarding" the "politics of division".

The Republican's "dangerous and inhumane policies" were "putting the lives and wellbeing of millions of people at risk", Mr Corbyn said.

Mr Trump landed at Stansted Airport on Thursday afternoon to begin his first trip to the UK since becoming president. He attended a dinner at Blenheim Palace on Thursday evening and will hold talks with Theresa May at Chequers on Friday.

He will also meet the Queen at Windsor Castle before travelling to Scotland, where he is expected to visit one of his golf courses.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to take to the streets to protest against the US president, with 100 demonstrations planned across the UK.

Labour had called repeatedly for Mr Trump's invitation to be withdrawn in response to his controversial policies and comments on Muslims, immigrants, women and other minority groups.

Speaking as the Republican arrived in Britain, Mr Corbyn said: "Theresa May has invited President Trump to our country at a time when his dangerous and inhumane policies are putting the lives and wellbeing of millions of people at risk."

He added: “We are committed to dialogue, including of course with those we strongly disagree with and in government we would find a way to work with his administration while also standing up for our values.

“But instead the Tories are rewarding President Trump with a red carpet welcome.

“We must show Trump and the Tories that we can and we will defeat the politics of division."

Ms May welcomed her US counterpart with a black tie dinner with business leaders at Bleinheim Palace, Winston Churchill's former home.

Speaking at the event, she emphasised the mutual benefits of the economic ties between the UK and the US.

She said: "Time and again, the common threads that hold us together – our shared history, our shared values, our shared language and culture – conspire to inspire mutual respect, and to make the United States and the United Kingdom not just the closest of allies, but the dearest of friends.

"Today, that friendship manifests itself in many ways. As was the case in Churchill’s time, and in many years before and since, it’s there in our joint efforts to protect our shared security – whether through targeting Daesh [Isis] terrorists or standing up to Russian aggression.

"But in 2018 that friendship is just as deep in our two nations’ commitment to our shared prosperity."

 

Trump touches down in the UK

Ms May said the UK is the biggest overseas investor in the US, investing more than France and Germany combined and 30 per cent more than any other country, and pointed out that more than a million Americans work for British-owned companies.

And she said Brexit provided an "unprecedented opportunity" to negotiate a UK-US trade deal and "tear down the bureaucratic barriers that frustrate business leaders on both sides of the Atlantic".

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She told Mr Trump: "Mr President, Sir Winston Churchill once said that 'to have the United States at our side was, to me, the greatest joy'.

"The spirit of friendship and co-operation between our countries, our leaders and our people, that most special of relationships, has a long and proud history. 

"Now, for the benefit of all our people, let us work together to build a more prosperous future."