President cancels his visit to London and pulls out of opening new £750m US embassy blaming the Obama administration for 'a bad deal'

Donald Trump, pictured in Washington yesterday, has scrapped plans to visit Britain

Donald Trump has scrapped plans to visit Britain next month.

The US President was expected to make his first trip to the UK since entering office, but Government officials have been told he has gone cold on the idea.

No new date has been offered, raising the prospect of a major diplomatic snub.One senior source suggested Mr Trump – who was expected to officially open the new US embassy in London – cancelled because he was unhappy about the arrangements and the scale of the visit.But Mr Trump tweeted overnight that he thought the US embassy's move from Grosvenor Square in London's prestigious Mayfair district to Nine Elms, south of the Thames, was a 'bad deal'.

He said: '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 $1.2billion. Bad deal. Wanted me to cut ribbon - NO!'

Despite Mr Trump publicly blaming predecessor Barack Obama, the US announced plans to move to the new site in October 2008 - when his fellow Republican George W Bush was in the White House.

The reversal comes despite Mr Trump telling Theresa May last month that he would come to Britain in the New Year.




Mr Trump tweeted overnight that he was '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 $1.2billion'