London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has issued a warning to US President Donald Trump ahead of a potential second state visit to the UK.
The Labour politician has told the US President that he should prepare to face mass protests upon any return to London after Mr Trump received an invite from King Charles last week.
Sir Sadiq said in a Sky News interview on Friday that he expects the British public to turn out in force and ‘use their right to free speech and the right to protest’.
Mr Trump and Sir Sadiq have shared a tempestuous relationship in the past, with the latter reiterating in the same interview that his views on the US President ‘have not changed’.
During Mr Trump’s previous state visit, Sir Sadiq made headlines when he authorised a blow-up blimp of the controversial Republican Party leader which was flown over Parliament Square.
More recently, last November saw the London Mayor break Labour Party ranks by issuing a rather disparaging ‘congratulatory’ message to Mr Trump upon his second US Presidential election victory.
‘Progress is not evitable’, said Sir Sadiq at the time in a statement which left him painfully at odds with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. He has also previously labelled Mr Trump as ‘sexist, homophobic, Islamophobic and racist’.
The animosity on Sir Sadiq’s behalf stems from President Trump’s pledge during his first White House term to ban Muslims from gaining entry to the US – a policy which Sir Sadiq blasted as ‘ignorant’.
London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has issued a warning to President Trump ahead of a muted second state visit to the UK
Donald Trump was invited on a second state visit of the UK by King Charles last week in a letter hand delivered by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer
Sir Sadiq issued the go ahead to a Trump blimp which depicted the US President in diaper during his first state visit to London
Of course, Mr Trump stayed true to his abrasive style and returned fire, dubbing the London Mayor a ‘stone-cold loser’ and ‘very dumb’.
Last November, Sir Sadiq levelled accusations of racial bias against Mr Trump in an appearance on the High Performance Podcast.
‘He wasn’t coming for me because I’m five foot six. He’s coming for me because of – let’s be frank – my ethnicity and my religion, so it’s incredibly personal to me’, Sir Sadiq said at the time.
‘It affects me, my family. What worries me though, it’s not about me and my family – it’s about the fact that he’s the leader of the free world’.
Speaking on Friday, Sir Sadiq reiterated these words by stating that his ‘views on President Trump are known by everybody and haven’t changed in his second term’.
He went on to critique last week’s unprecedented Oval Office altercation between President Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the subsequent decision by the Trump administration to halt the flow of military aid into Ukraine
‘I think we are living in unprecedented times. In my adult life I’ve not seen what I have over the past three years. Russia invading Georgia, annexing Crimea and once again illegally invading Ukraine’, Sir Sadiq said.
‘What does Russia want? Russia wants the USA to be disentangled with Europe and to leave NATO. Russia is pleased that the UK has left the EU’.
Sir Sadiq appeared on Sky News on Friday to issue a warning to President Trump about his muted return to London
Sir Sadiq said he ‘accepts’ the government’s need to retain close ties with the US but disagrees with the visit of Mr Trump
Trump publicly feuded with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during their meeting in the Oval Office last week (pictured)
Going on to admit that he did not agree with the decision to re-invite President Trump for a second state visit, Sir Sadiq said that he ‘accepted’ Downing Street’s stance and need to retain close ties with the US.
‘I accept when the government says its in the national interest for President Trump to have a state visit, but for me personally, my views on President Trump in his second term have not changed’.
Sir Sadiq continued by issuing a warning to Mr Trump to expect a less than kind welcome from Londoners and the wider UK population should he accept the invitation of King Charles.
‘I’m sure you’ll see when President Trump comes to the UK, Londoners and Brits exercising their right of freedom of speech and freedom of protest and letting our views be known…
‘Unlike the views of Vice President JD Vance, we do have free speech in this country which includes the right to protest. I expect you’ll see Londoners and those across the country letting their views be heard loud and clear if and when President Trump comes’, Sir Sadiq concluded.
Earlier this week, Scottish National Party (SNP) leader John Swinney echoed Sir Sadiq’s misgivings around Mr Trump’s muted second state visit.
Mr Swinney said that no visit should be considered by government until the Trump administration pledges its ‘full scale’ support for Ukraine.
However, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer rubbished these calls, claiming he would not be ‘diverted by SNP rhetoric’ on the issue.
