US President Donald Trump has requested the Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage be added to the guest list for his State banquet with Queen Elizabeth next month.
Friends of Farage say President Trump has personally invited him to the white-tie dinner, despite fierce objections from other senior officials, including Prime Minister Theresa May.
Breitbart.com reports: Mr Trump is due to visit the United Kingdom from June 3rd to 5th. While in Britain, he will take part in commemorations for the 75th anniversary of D-Day. The state banquet with the Queen will be the centrepiece of the state visit.
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Under existing rules, the U.S. President is allowed to invite a small delegation of personal guests to the banquet at Buckingham Palace. One Brexit Party souce revealed: “overtures have been made about Nigel going in with the U.S. contingent.”
Speaking about the reaction of the Prime Minister to the news, the source said: “We have been told that his attendance would be a ‘red line’ for No 10, but it’s not clear if they would be able to stop him coming.”
Mr Farage and Mr Trump are known to be good friends. Mr Farage was the first British politician to visit Mr Trump after his historic election victory in 2016, and Farage also attended rallies for the President during his election campaign.
Speaking to LBC radio, Mr Farage said: “The last time he came to the UK, one of the Government’s red lines was that he wasn’t to meet me.”
Farage continued: “I know not only him very well but also members of his administration.”
Mr Farage stressed that his attendance during President Trump’s last British visit could have been highly beneficial due to his close relationship with the President.
“You would have though if the British Government was acting in the national interest, they would have tried to use me constructively.
“But of course, Theresa May doesn’t care about the national interest, she only cares about the Conservative Party’s interest.”
Various top politicians have already announced that they will be boycotting the event in protest at the President’s visit. These include Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn — who attended a banquet for the China’s communist dictator without issue — Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, and House of Commons speaker John Bercow.
Mr Bercow has previously declined to invite President Trump to address the Parliament, drawing criticism from his counterpart in the House of Lords.
