Donald Trump personally requested Sadiq Khan not be invited to state banquet

"I asked that he not be there"

The US president has been on a state visit of the UK this week, visiting the Royal Family at Windsor Castle and later the prime minister at Chequers.

The visit saw the UK and US announce a new £150bn tech deal as well as both Trump and Starmer give a joint speech last night, during which the pair addressed matters of Ukraine, Gaza, immigration and Peter Mandelson.

During his stay, Trump attended a state banquet at Windsor Castle with the King and other important figures in attendance.

However, one person President Trump did not want at the meal was the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, giving a scathing analysis of the politician in the latest chapter in a continuing feud between the pair.

Trump told reporters on Air Force One while on his way back to the US that Khan had wanted to attend the banquet, but the president had "asked that he not be there".

Despite this, the BBC understands that Khan "did not seek or expect an invite to the state banquet".

In 2019, Trump called the mayor "a stone-cold loser" with Khan accusing Trump of stirring up far-right politics.

Speaking to reporters, Trump said: "I think the Mayor of London Khan is among the worst mayors in the world, and we have some bad ones.

"I think he's done a terrible job. Crime in London is through the roof.

"I asked that he not be there. He wanted to be there, as I understand, I didn't want him."

Both Trump and Starmer managed to handle themselves during yesterday's press conference which featured some questions that could have posed a threat as potential banana skins.

Questions on immigration and Peter Mandelson, amongst others, were raised with Trump even advising Starmer on using the army to control immigration.

On the topic, Trump said that he saw "millions of people" fly into the US "unchecked".

Trump said that this "destroys countries from within".

He said he had "no choice" but to remove them.

Speaking about the UK, Trump said: "I told the prime minister I would stop it, and it doesn't matter if you call out the military, it doesn't matter what means you use."

Meanwhile, responding to questions about the now-sacked UK ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson, Trump claimed to "not know him".

The US president was asked if he had "some sympathy with him that he lost his job over historic links to Jeffrey Epstein?”

Before passing the question over to Starmer, Trump simply responded: “I don’t know him actually.”