DONALD Trump’s state visit to the UK, which could include a trip to Scotland, looks set for June, according to Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner.
Sir Bernard let slip the timeframe during an interview on LBC radio when he said the cost to policing the event could run into millions of pounds given the likelihood of protests.
“I think President Trump’s coming around June…I think that’s the plan,” said the London police chief.
If the US President’s state visit does take place in June, it could coincide with Westminster’s Whitsun recess, which runs from May 25 to June 5.
Whitehall insiders have already suggested it is a "no-brainer" that Mr Trump's visit to the UK would include a trip to Scotland, where his late mother Mary hailed from.
The US President's forthcoming visit to the UK has caused outrage after he signed an executive order introducing a 90-day travel ban on residents from seven predominantly Muslim countries - Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen - to stop "radical Islamic terrorists" from going to America.
More than 1.8 million Britons have signed a petition calling on Theresa May to rescind the invitation of a state visit but the Prime Minister has refused. A Westminster debate on the matter will take place on February 20.
Meantime, a Tory MP claimed John Bercow could be ousted as Commons Speaker within days over his outspoken comments about Mr Trump.
James Duddridge has tabled a parliamentary motion of no confidence in Mr Bercow and predicted he could be "dead in the water," if MPs publicly reveal the concerns about the Speaker they have so far kept private.
Mr Bercow divided opinion when he spoke out against the US President having the honour of addressing both Houses of Parliament in Westminster Hall as some of his predecessors have.
While some MPs applauded the Speaker for his remarks, including the SNP, others, most notably on the Conservative benches, believed Mr Bercow had crossed the line and compromised the traditional neutrality of his office.
If the Speaker lost the vote, then a replacement would have to be found. Lindsay Hoyle, his deputy, fell foul of SNP MPs this week by cutting short their colleague Joanna Cherry during the Brexit Bill debate. The Nationalists' 54 votes could be crucial in any contest.
Another possible contender would be Scot Eleanor Laing, who is also a Deputy Speaker. She is the Conservative MP for Epping Forest in Essex.
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