Donald Trump's visit to Britain could happen around June: London police chief

US President Donald J. Trump meets with British Prime Minister Theresa May in the oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on Jan 27, 2017. PHOTO: EPA

LONDON (REUTERS) - US President Donald Trump's state visit to Britain could happen around June, the outgoing chief of London's Metropolitan Police said on Thursday (Feb 9).

Speaking on an LBC radio show, police chief Bernard Hogan-Howe said: "I think President Trump is coming around June."

The police chief added that there was concern about protests during the visit.

Prime Minister Theresa May, seeking closer ties to Washington as Britain withdraws from the European Union, invited Trump to make a state visit to Britain.

A state visit involves lavish displays of royal pageantry and a banquet hosted by Queen Elizabeth.

May's invitation prompted criticism in Britain with over 1.8 million people signing a petition calling for the visit to be scrapped.

The speaker of the lower house of Britain's parliament said he did not support the idea of Trump addressing parliament during the visit.

"The invitation has only relatively recently been extended and accepted," May's spokesman told reporters. "The details surrounding that trip are yet to be firmed up."

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