Donald Trump and Theresa May 'agree to postpone' state visit to the UK after protests

Senior politicians hope that outrage over Mr Trump's policies will have died down by the time he arrives

A woman walks past a mural by English street artist Bambi depicting British Prime Minister Theresa May dancing with US President Donald Trump in London on February 22, 2017 (DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images)

Donald Trump's trip to the UK will be postponed so that he can avoid protests.

Senior politicians and Theresa May hope that people will have forgotten about the President's controversial policies by the time he arrives, according to The Sun, which first reported news of the change.

Mr Trump was invited to the UK by Ms May in January. But the move was immediately met by protests by both the public and Parliament, and the President is said to be concerned that he will be snubbed or embarrassed if he has his state visit in June as planned.

Instead, it will be moved to October, according to The Sun. By that time, protests over Mr Trump's Muslim ban and other controversial policies may have died down and the trip will be less embarrassing, officials hope.

Moving the trip to October also means that Mr Trump could meet The Queen at Balmoral, reportedly a keen hope of the President. The Queen's summer schedule is already packed, but she may be able to find space in the autumn, according to reports.

The schedule – which is currently planned to run from 5 October to 8 October, or Thursday to Sunday – means that the trip would fall just after the Tory party conference. It would also mean that MPs were still away from Parliament on recess, minimising the chance of an embarrassing snub by MPs.

Mr Trump's election and resulting policies have received widespread criticism from politicians, who have threatened to try and ban him from parliament entirely. The decision to invite the President to the UK has also been greeted by some of the largest street protests in recent years, and activists have promised to protest any trip that Mr Trump does eventually make.

"Trump still really wants to come this year, but he wants the heat to die down a bit first," a senior UK government source told The Sun. “The White House watch what happens over here surprisingly closely, and they don’t want to create a scene for our sake either.”

Much of the controversy has surrounded Mr Trump's Muslim ban, which kept people from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the US but was struck down by a judge. The Trump administration is in the process of re-writing that executive order, with some tweaks.