Trump says he refused meeting with Jeremy Corbyn

Labour confirms Mr Corbyn ready to 'engage with the president on a range of issues'

Donald Trump has said he refused a request for a meeting from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn during his much-anticipated state visit.

The US president branded Mr Corbyn a "somewhat negative force", as he revealed he had decided not to meet the Labour leader during the three-day visit to London.

Labour confirmed an approach had been made to the president, while Mr Corbyn addressed thousands of anti-Trump protesters in Whitehall.

At a press conference alongside Theresa May, Mr Trump said: "I don't know Jeremy Corbyn. Never met him, never spoke to him.

"He wanted to meet today or tomorrow and I decided that I would not do that.

"I think that he is from where I come from, somewhat of a neg force. I think that people should look to do things correctly as opposed to criticise.

"I really don't like critics as much as I like and respect people who get things done. So I decided not to meet."

Mr Trump dismissed the widespread protests in the capital as "fake news" and insisted that there was "love" in London for him.

A Labour spokesperson said: “Jeremy Corbyn proposed a meeting with Donald Trump during the president's visit.

"Jeremy is ready to engage with the president on a range of issues, including the climate emergency, threats to peace and the refugee crisis."

Mr Corbyn previously condemned the decision to roll out the red carpet for the president, declaring he would boycott the state banquet in Mr Trump's honour.

He said maintaining an important relationship with America "does not require the pomp and ceremony of a state visit" and said the government had sought to "kowtow to this US administration".

Mr Corbyn told crowds from a stage in Whitehall: "I am not, absolutely not, refusing to meet anybody.

"I want to be able to have that dialogue to bring about the better and more peaceful world that we all want to live in.

"But I'm very disappointed, particularly today, on the wonderful festival of Eid, that our mayor of London Sadiq Khan has been attacked as he has.

"I am proud that our city has a Muslim mayor, that we can chase down Islamophobia, antisemitism, any form of racism within our society because racism divides."

Mr Trump's first act on arriving in the UK was to reignite his feud with Mr Khan, describing the mayor as a "stone cold loser".