There are growing calls for Britain to cancel a planned state visit by US President Donald Trump after he retweeted videos from a far-right British political organisation.
Mr Trump's decision to retweet the inflammatory videos has put British Prime Minister Theresa May in the awkward position of having to condemn her US counterpart's actions while insisting the United Kingdom enjoys a "special relationship" with the United States.
On Thursday, she repeated her comments that retweeting Britain First was "the wrong thing to do", describing it as a "hateful" organisation that "seeks to spread division".
But she stressed that Britain and the United States have "a long-term special relationship ... it is an enduring relationship that is there because it is in both our nations' interests".
Ms May issued the invitation for the prestigious state visit unusually early into Mr Trump's presidency, in January. A date for the visit has not yet been set.
This screenshot from Donald Trump's Twitter account shows three retweets that he posted on 29 November 2017. (AAP) Source: AAP
State visits to the UK - a formal visit by a head of state - are usually grand affairs and normally undertaken at the invitation of the Queen, acting on advice from the current government. Visitors may stay at Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle, attend a state banquet, and be invited to the Houses of Parliament where they could be asked to make a speech.
The Queen acts as the official host for the visit and usually invites one or two heads of state to visit each year.
Opposition to visit on all sides
During an urgent debate on the matter in British Parliament, opposition politicians demanded the offer be withdrawn, with Labour MP Dennis Skinner describing Mr Trump as "this fascist president".
Labour's Paul Flynn argued that Mr Trump “should be arrested for inciting racial hatred” if he came to Britain.
There is criticism from Ms May's own ranks too, with Muslim Conservative cabinet member Sajid Javid tweeting that Mr Trump had "endorsed the views of a vile, hate-filled racist organisation that hates me and people like me".
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said on Thursday that it was "increasingly clear that any official visit at all from President Trump to Britain would not be welcomed".
Mr Khan, who has himself been involved in a string of Trump Twitter spats, said the president's actions were "a betrayal of the special relationship between our two countries".
Efforts to build relationship undermined
Ms May has been making a concerted effort to strengthen UK-US ties, as she navigates Britain's exit from the European Union. The relationship got off to a good start with Mrs May becoming the first foreign leader to visit Mr Trump after his swearing in.
But this latest Twitter spat and the growing pressure to withdraw the state visit is a major setback.
Mr Trump reacted angrily to Ms May's initial criticism, telling her on Twitter: "Don't focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom."
In a pointed remark, Ms May said: "I'm not a prolific tweeter myself and that means I don't spend all my time looking at other people's tweets. But when I feel that there should be a response I give it."
The White House claimed that by retweeting the Islamophobic posts, the president had "elevated" the debate about security.
"I think what he's done is elevate the conversation to talk about a real issue and a real threat, and that's extreme violence and extreme terrorism," press secretary Sarah Sanders said.
- With AFP
