According to Westminster sources, a weekend visit at the very end of August or in September is now under discussion between the government, Buckingham Palace and the White House. A source described such a plan as “the preferred option at our end”. Parliament will be in summer recess until 5 September and adjourns again for the party conferences on 15 September for nearly a month.
Such an arrangement would mean that Trump would not be invited to address parliament at all. The approach follows Bercow’s statement this week that he would not give his consent either to a speech by the president in Westminster Hall or in the royal gallery, both of which have traditionally been used for addresses by visiting statesmen and women.
Officials are also said to be keen to limit the president’s public exposure more generally during the visit, in order to reduce the opportunities for protests and disorder on a state occasion. Hundreds of thousands of protesters could be expected in any large city, causing major headaches for the emergency and security services. This suggests that the president will spend relatively little time in London, while the majority of the visit will be conducted behind as strict a security cordon as possible.
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