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Sir Sadiq Khan has warned Donald Trump to prepare for protests across London when he arrives for his second state visit to the UK.
The mayor of London said he is expecting the public to “use their right to free speech and the right to protest” when the US president arrives in the capital.
He refused to “relitigate” the long-standing back-and-forth conflict he has had with Mr Trump, which has seen the president describe Mr Khan as “very dumb” and a “stone cold loser”. In the past Sir Sadiq has described Mr Trump as “sexist, homophobic, Islamophobic and racist”.
Asked on Times Radio whether he would encourage people to protest, Sir Sadiq took aim at Vice President JD Vance, who has warned free speech in Britain is “in retreat”.
He said: “One of the things that I’m afraid is a misconception the vice president of the USA has is we’ve got no free speech in our country.
“Encourage people to utilise their rights by voting, by joining a political party, by going to a protest, using safe, peaceful, lawful ways to express your views.
“If it was the case that President Trump came to the UK, we can expect Londoners and those across the country to express their views. And that’s the joys of living in a democracy.”
Sir Sadiq also hinted that he would give the sign off to a second Trump baby blimp, one of which was paraded through the capital during Mr Trump’s first state visit.
“Contrary to what [vice president] JD Vance thinks, in this country, we still have freedom of speech,” Sir Sadiq said.
The King has invited the US president for an unprecedented second state visit, with the invitation hand delivered by Sir Keir Starmer in the Oval Office last week. “That’s a great, great honour”, Mr Trump said after reading the letter.
But his Oval Office clash with Volodymyr Zelensky over US support for Ukraine just a day later saw Sir Keir facing a wave of calls to cancel the invitation.
A poll on Wednesday showed almost half of Britons said Mr Trump’s visit should be cancelled, while more than half said the invite should not have been handed over in the first place.
Asked whether he believed the visit should be cancelled, Sir Sadiq said: “I fully support Keir Starmer in terms of working closely with our European friends, but also having close relations with the USA as well. And I can understand why the government thinks it’s in the national interest for President Trump to come on a state visit.
“My views on President Trump and his second term haven’t changed. And I’m sure you’ll see in London, Londoners and those across the country using their right to free speech and the right to protest if and when President Trump does come to London.”
