More protests planned as Donald Trump arrives in Scotland – UK

The president and first lady jetted to Scotland on Friday evening after talks with Theresa May and tea with the Queen at Windsor Castle, to Trump Turnberry on the west coast.

As the working visit came to an end, the White House was forced to delete a tweet which claimed Mr and Mrs Trump would be “leaving the UK”.

It was quickly pointed out that the couple would still be in the UK when they were staying in Scotland.

Tens of thousands of protesters lined the streets of London, Manchester, Glasgow and Bristol to protest the visit of the American president but it is thought there will be more as he jets north.

Thousands of people are expected in Edinburgh at a Carnival of Resistance in the Meadows area.

Campaigners will also gather outside the Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire, his second course, and there could be some protests at Turnberry.

Greenpeace flew a paraglider with a banner message reading “Trump well below par” above the resort on Friday evening.

Ben Stewart, from the campaign group, said: “Theresa May should not have dignified Trump with a visit to the UK. The vast majority of British people are appalled by his words and deeds.

“He is, simply, the worst president ever. That’s why we flew over him with a message branding him well below par.”

Mr Trump will also be preparing for his meeting with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on Monday, his aides say.

:: Donald Trump sorry for explosive Brexit claims but attacks fake news

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He spent much of Friday attempting to undo the damage done by an explosive interview with The Sun, in which he indicated he would not do a trade deal with Britain if he considered a soft Brexit to have been passed.

He had also told The Sun he offered Mrs May advice on how to handle the negotiations, and his former chief strategist Steve Bannon has revealed the president’s tips came from his book, The Art Of The Deal.

In that, he tells people to “overshoot” – asking for far more than they ever expect.

Mr Bannon told The Daily Telegraph that Mr Trump offered this advice to Mrs May, as well as advising her to be “brutal” and “tough”.

He added: “Trump gave her some pointers and pulled her off to the side and said ‘Hey, if I was doing this, here is how tough you have got to be because these guys are not going to let you go’.

“He gave her the precis [of his book], which is ‘overshoot your target and get on with it – because if this drags on it is going to be bad’.”

Following talks with the prime minister at her Chequers country retreat, the US president backtracked on his claim Mrs May’s Brexit blueprint will “kill” hopes of any future US-UK trade deal and hailed US-UK ties as the “highest level of special”.

Mr Trump repeated his call for the UK to retain the ability to sign new trade agreements once it leaves the EU, but signalled he had received assurances from Mrs May this would be the case.

Addressing the row at a joint news conference with Mrs May on Friday, Mr Trump claimed he “didn’t criticise” Mrs May and has a “lot of respect” for her.

He said: “The only thing I ask of Theresa is that we make sure we can trade and we don’t have any restrictions because we want to trade with the UK and the UK wants to trade with us.

“So if they go in a slightly different route [on Brexit] – and I know they do want independence… if they are going to go in a certain route I just said that I hope you are going to be able to trade with the United States.

“I read reports where that won’t be possible, but I believe after speaking with the prime minister’s people and representatives and trade experts it will absolutely be possible.”

He said he had apologised to Mrs May for the report and praised her professionalism in her response.

He continued: “She said ‘don’t worry it’s only the press’. I thought that was very professional.

“She’s a very smart, very tough, very capable person and I would much rather have her as my friend than my enemy, that I can tell you.”