Former Labour frontbencher Rosena Allin-Khan vows to LEAD anti-Trump protest if returning US president makes state visit to Britain_Nhy
A former Labour frontbencher has vowed to lead protests against Donald Trump if he makes a state visit to the UK.
Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, who was part of Keir Starmer‘s top team in opposition, said she would take part in demonstrations expected if the US president comes to Britain.
Reports have suggested that King Charles could entertain Trump on a visit as the government tries to see off the threat of trade tariffs and other protectionist measures.
Dr Allin-Khan, who was also shadow sports minister under Jeremy Corbyn, took part in protests against Trump during his first term.
And the NHS doctor, who came close to being elected deputy Labour leader in 2020, said she was prepared to do so again after he was installed in the White House on Monday.
Appearing on ITV‘s Peston programme she also lashed out at the ‘fascist’ salute given by billionaire Trump ally Elon Musk after the inauguration.
Asked if she was prepared to march against Trump again, she said: ‘I was leading the march last time and I’m not in government, I’m on the backbenches … absolutely I will, yes.’
She also said Sir Keir had ‘no choice’ but to try to work with him, adding: ‘I really worry for the future with Trump in it again.
Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, who was part of Keir Starmer’s top team in opposition, said she would take part in demonstrations expected if the US president comes to Britain.
Dr Allin-Khan, who was also shadow sports minister under Jeremy Corbyn, took part in protests against Trump during his first term (president pictured with the late Queen in 2018)
And the NHS doctor, who came close to being elected deputy Labour leader in 2020, said she was prepared to do so again after he was installed in the White House on Monday.
‘I worry for our kids I worry for our minority communities; I worry for young men and women but ultimately, we have with Trump a politics of division and hate.’
In 2018 she said his visit to Britain should be cancelled, claiming he ‘fuelled’ an ‘abhorrent massacre’ by Israeli forces at the Gaza border.
Israeli forces had killed dozens of Palestinians and injured more than 2,700 during protests along the border, while a few miles away a ceremony was taking place in Jerusalem for the opening of the controversial new US embassy.
In a speech in the Commons she described Mr Trump as a ‘narcissistic American president who is content to watch the world burn’ as she called on the Government to scrap his trip.
During his first term as US President, Trump enjoyed a 2019 state visit to Britain at a time when the then Tory government was chasing a UK-US trade deal.
He and his wife Melania were hosted at Buckingham Palace by Queen Elizabeth, having previously joined the late monarch for tea at Windsor Castle in July 2018.
Diplomats are counting on the King to become a ‘key asset’ in forging a positive relationship with President Trump after the Government found itself on the back foot.
They say the Royal Family is a ‘priceless and powerful’ weapon of soft-diplomacy and ‘no other country will have anything similar to deploy’ in building a new ‘special relationship’ with the American leader.
However Trump this week suggested he could make Saudi Arabia his first foreign destination, as he did in his first term in a break with tradition.
US leaders normally make London their first port of call after being inaugurated, to show the depth of the ‘special relationship’.
However Trump and his senior team, including Elon Musk, have clashed with Sir Keir and Labour in recent months.
And in a chaotic Monday night press conference in the Oval Office, Trump suggested that the Saudis might be able to buy his support this time around as well.
He told reporters: ‘The first foreign trip typically has been with UK but we did it, I did it, with Saudi Arabia last time because they agreed to buy $450billion worth of our product.
‘I said “I’ll do it but you have to buy American product” and they agreed to do that they bought $450 billion, it was the least reported story I’ve ever been involved (in).
‘I don’t know if Saudi Arabia wanted to buy another $450bn or $500bn – we’ll up it for all the inflation – I think I’d probably go there.’
Dr Allin-Khan stood for the Labour deputy leadership in 2020, coming second to Angela Rayner.
Yesterday Downing Street said Mr Musk must defend his own actions, after the tech billionaire made a gesture widely interpreted as a Nazi salute during a rally for new US President Donald Trump.
Keir Starmer made her shadow minister for mental health but she quit in 2023, criticising then shadow health secretary Wes Streeting for planning to use more private healthcare to reduce pressure on the NHS.
As well as being MP for Tooting she also works as a doctor at St George’s Hospital in her constituency.
Yesterday Downing Street said Mr Musk must defend his own actions, after the tech billionaire made a gesture widely interpreted as a Nazi salute during a rally for new US President Donald Trump.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Sir Keir Starmer would not be happy were any of his ministers to make a Nazi salute, but he would not be drawn into saying whether he believed Mr Musk’s gesture was an example of it.
On Monday, Mr Musk gave a speech at a rally following the new President’s inauguration, in which he thanked Mr Trump’s supporters.
He then slapped his hand on his chest and extended his arm straight outward and upward with his palm facing downwards.
The Tesla mogul then turned around and made a similar gesture in the opposite direction.
Mr Musk has not explicitly denied claims the gesture looked like a Nazi salute, but hit out at his critics, writing on his X social media site that the ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired’.
