Former Tory MP Gavin Barwell, who worked in Downing Street during the previous state visit of the US president warned ministers should organise events away from protests
Keir Starmer will welcome Donald Trump with a reception at his Chequers countryside residence – far away for mass protests planned.
It comes as the US President prepares to jet to Britain this week for an unprecedented second state visit and a private lunch with Mr Starmer. Mr Trump will be treated to a display of the British Army’s Red Devils, who are set to fly into Chequers to keep the erratic President entertained.
He will also be shown special artifacts from Winston Churchill’s life, which No10 said show the wartime PM’s “close personal affinity” with America. No10 said the leaders will dine on the “British favourite Dover Sole, served with peas and potatoes for the main and the American classic key lime pie for dessert”.
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Theresa May’s former chief-of-staff told The Mirror the PM should avoid exposing Mr Trump to “big protests” during his state visit. Gavin Barwell, who worked in No10 during the previous state visit of the US President, backed the right to protest, but said ministers should organise events “further away”.
Thousands of people will gather in central London this week to demonstrate against the visit, with campaigners accusing the US leader of denying climate change and enabling genocide. Mr Barwell, a former Tory MP, also accused Nigel Farage of deliberately trying to wind up Mr Trump before he visited to create issues for the government.
Asked about the visit in 2019, he said:“He was kind of wound up by Farage or by people in Farage’s circle beforehand, so he gave an interview to a British newspaper where he was pretty disparaging about where the Prime Minister was on Brexit, so that was the backdrop which made it difficult. I suspect the recent trip to Washington to go and see him was partly with that in mind, to wind him up on a few issues.
“In terms of the visits themselves, what you are trying to achieve is some good quality face to face time between the President and Prime Minister, and then to show off something about the UK that will make him feel more warm towards it.
“I think one of the advantages we have is that he does seem to view the UK in a more positive light. Sometimes that was history or pomp and circumstance. We had dinner at Blenheim Palace, we took him into the cabinet war rooms, also showing the ways we were supporting the USA.
“The final factor is you’re probably trying to avoid any kind of event being held right in the centre of big population centres, because you don’t want to expose him to big protests.”
Mr Barwell said the protests were not a concern, but something to manage. He explained: “I don’t think you have to be worried about them, because people have a right to protest, but you don’t necessarily want to organise the visit in a way where the President is confronted face to face with the protests. It’s better if you’ve got venues that are further away.”
Mr Barwell also suggested the PM could make progress on Gaza and Ukraine by framing the argument as it would be good for Trump.
He said: “Like any negotiation, the starting point is to understand the person you’re negotiating with, what’s important to them, what motivates them, and think about how you can deploy your arguments in ways that sound like you’re trying to get them what they want.
“One of the things about Trump that’s pretty clear about President Trump is he’s very invested in winning the Nobel Peace Prize. I would be saying to him, look, you’ve already got a list of achievements – Armenia Azerbaijan, India Pakistan, Thailand Cambodia, the DRC Rwanda, but the two big ones are Ukraine and Gaza.
“In order to stop those conflicts, you’re going to have to apply a bit more pressure to Putin and Netenyahu. You don’t go in with a full frontal, you should be doing this, but you portray it in the context of what he’s trying to achieve.”
Other protests planned include those from Everyone Hates Elon, a group which has raised more than £27,000 to plaster an image of Mr Trump with Jeffrey Epstein across the UK.
On Tuesday a memorial was unveiled to Epstein at Trump’s Aberdeen golf course, while on Wednesday a bus stop ad was unofficially placed by the US Embassy with the simple words “ Donald Trump is a rapist.”
A spokesperson for Everyone Hates Elon said: “With Trump arriving next week, we’re getting ready for a big celebration of the special relationship – the relationship between Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump.
“His supporters are tearing themselves up over the Epstein files. Now he’s hoping to escape it all to have tea out with the King. But there’s no way we’re letting him use our country to polish his image. We’re ready to make sure Epstein haunts him everywhere he goes.”
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