Theresa May expected to visit Turkey for talks with Recep Tayyip Erdogan in wake of terror attacks

It comes after a gunman opened fire on New Year’s Eve revellers at a nightclub in Istanbul, killing 39 people and wounding dozens more

The meeting with Recep Tayyip Erdogan is likely to focus on the international effort to defeat Isis (Getty)

Theresa May is set to visit Turkey later this month for talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the wake of several terror attacks in which hundreds have died in the country.

In her brief visit to the country later this month, the Prime Minister is likely to focus on the international effort to defeat the so-called Islamic State and the relationship between Britain and Turkey as she prepares to begin the Brexit negotiations later this year.

It comes after a gunman opened fire on New Year’s Eve revellers at a nightclub in Istanbul, killing 39 people and wounding dozens more in the country’s latest terror attack. Isis claimed responsibility for the atrocity and hailed the attacker as a “heroic soldier of the caliphate”.

The Prime Minister’s trip is also set to include meetings with Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, who had invited Ms May to the country after she condemned the failed coup against Mr Erdogan shortly after entering Downing Street in July 2016.

At the time, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister said: “The Prime Minister commended the bravery of the Turkish people in standing up for democracy and she underlined the UK’s full support for Turkey’s democratically elected government and institutions, saying there was no place for military intervention in politics.

“They agreed that the UK and Turkey already have a strong relationship and that opportunities to deepen our strategic partnership should be pursued, particularly in the areas of counter-terrorism, migration, regional security and defence.”

But the visit could prove difficult for the Prime Minister as she will have to address claims made by some of her Cabinet during the EU referendum campaign, who used Turkey’s unlikely membership of the union to harness support for the Leave camp.

The visit also follows a trip by Boris Johnson last September in which the Foreign Secretary attempted to make amends for a satirical limerick, in which he refereed to Mr Erdogan as a “wankerer” who had sex with a goat.