Donald Trump has cancelled his planned visit to the UK, where he was scheduled to open the new US embassy.
The 71-year-old was supposed to travel to London next month to official christen the new building, which has moved from Mayfair to near Vauxhall station.
Mr Trump said he cancelled the visit because he is “not a big fan” of the new embassy, and he blamed Barack Obama for what he views as a bad move.
He tweeted: “Reason I cancelled my trip to London is that I am not a big fan of the Obama Administration having sold perhaps the best located and finest embassy in London for ‘peanuts’, only to build a new one in an off location for 1.2 billion dollars. Bad deal. Wanted me to cut ribbon – no!”
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the cancellation is a sign that the US President has “got the message” that many Londoners are opposed to his views.
But Boris Johnson defended the UK’s relationship with Mr Trump and accused Mr Khan of jeopardising this with his comments.
He tweeted: “The US is the biggest single investor in the UK – yet Khan and Corbyn seem determined to put this crucial relationship at risk.
“We will not allow US-UK relations to be endangered by some puffed up pompous popinjay in City Hall.”
This visit was separate to the controversial full state visit offered by Theresa May, for which no date has yet been set.
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