Donald Trump UK visit: President touches down for Nato meeting

2 December 2019, 21:57

US President Donald Trump has landed in the UK for the third time to attend a Nato meeting - but what else will he be up to during his visit?

The US President has touched down at Stansted airport.

Donald Trump landed on UK ground at 9:55pm on Monday evening.

He is undertaking a two-day state visit, during which he will be attending a reception at Buckingham Palace and a Nato meeting on international security.

The protection operation surrounding the president is expected to be tighter than ever throughout his visit, as he arrives onboard Air Force One, which is built to withstand an air attack.

President Trump, who recently spoke with LBC in an exclusive interview, and First Lady Melania will then travel down to London via a motorcade, after their plan to travel in Marine One was ruined by fog.

What will President Trump be doing in the UK?

President Trump is in the UK from Monday December 2 until Wednesday December 4.

On Tuesday, Buckingham Palace will host a reception with the Queen as part of a celebration marking 70 years of the Nato alliance.

Leaders will then meet at the Grove Hotel, near Watford, on Wednesday.

A statement released by the White House said: "President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will travel to the United Kingdom from December 2 to 4, 2019, to attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Leaders Meeting and a reception hosted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace."

Who is President Trump meeting?

President Trump will be meeting many members of British royalty, as well as Nato world leaders and their partners.

The Queen, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall will be formally greeting the politicians.

The Duchess of Cambridge, the Earl of Wessex, the Princess Royale, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and Princess Alexandra will also be in attendance.

He will also be meeting with the leaders of Nato's 29 member states.

These include French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

What are his aims for the visit?

Mr Trump has previously said he wants to discuss defence spending and addressing threats "emanating from cyberspace, those affecting our critical infrastructure and telecommunications networks, and those posed by terrorism."

Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the leaders will "address the security challenges we face now and in the future, and to ensure that Nato continues to adapt in order to keep its population of almost one billion people safe." 

He wrote on Twitter: "The next meeting of Nato Heads of State and Government will take place in London in December. It is the ideal setting to mark 70 years of transatlantic cooperation, as the home of Nato's first HQ back in 1949.

"Grateful to UK for hosting."

When did President Trump last visit the UK?

This will be his third visit since his election in 2016.

His two previous visits were in July 2018 and June this year.

During both of these, he faced significant demonstrations, with the overall cost of policing Trump's visit in 2018 amounting to £14.2 million.

Protests are also expected during this visit, with tens of thousands of NHS nurses expected to attend a "Hands off our NHS" march on Tuesday evening.

The protest will begin at Trafalgar Square, before heading to Buckingham Palace shortly before Trump's arrival.

Supporters of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and Stop the War groups are also set to stage a "No to Trump - No to Nato" march from Trafalgar Square to Canada Gate.