UK deploys huge security presence for Donald Trump’s visit

Donald Trump’s state visit to the United Kingdom — his second, with the same pomp and protocol — was to be the most significant event scheduled to kick off the new British political year. A series of unexpected and serious factors, such as the dismissal of the ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, over his friendship with billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, and the murder of far-right American activist Charlie Kirk, have disrupted Downing Street’s plans and foreshadow political tension and unprecedented security measures throughout the week.

The Trumps are scheduled to stay at Windsor Castle, where they will arrive Tuesday, as guests of King Charles III of England. British authorities have been preparing a major police operation for weeks, which will include up to 55 drones constantly flying over Windsor, as well as armed response vehicles and special riot gear for officers, who will maintain 24-hour surveillance of the area from Tuesday until Thursday, the day the Trumps are scheduled to conclude their visit.

Police have already announced air traffic restrictions over Windsor and Chequers, the prime minister’s official country residence in Buckinghamshire. The working meeting between the two leaders and their teams, as well as the official press conference concluding the state visit, will be held at the estate.

“We’ve considered every possibility, from low-threat incidents to potentially high threats. This is a very comprehensive security arrangement,” explained Sergeant Daniel Hatfield, commander of the firearms response unit. “This is not the first visit by a U.S. president to Windsor, and we already have well-developed and experienced relationships with our American colleagues.”

The equipment officers will be deployed with, however, gives an idea of the pressure British law enforcement will be under during the visit: Taser stun guns, rubber bullet-firing shotguns, Glock 17 pistols, rifles, bulletproof helmets, respirators, and all manner of body armor.

Kirk’s murder last week on a college campus has heightened police fears of a possible repercussion. Kirk was a staunch Trump ally, and his death has fueled political tensions in the country, as well as bringing back memories for many of the attack on the president himself during the election campaign prior to his second term.

Trump will not deliver a speech in the UK parliament, nor will he visit Buckingham Palace in central London. The entire ceremony for his reception by the royal family (a welcome by the Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Kate, as well as a meeting with King Charles and Queen Camilla) will take place in Windsor. This will complicate the possibility of protests and public disturbances near the U.S. president, although the Stop Trump coalition has organized a demonstration in London on Wednesday under the slogan “Trump is Not Welcome,” and protest rallies are also expected around Windsor Castle.

Political instability

Keir Starmer had clearly opted for a visit he hoped would finally convince those — both outside and within his Labour Party — who had criticized his continued flattery and subservience to the Republican president. The British government was going to announce the closing of a major agreement with Washington to boost nuclear energy, as well as technological agreements with some of the U.S. giants in the field of artificial intelligence, and even a new trade agreement that would relax tariffs and customs charges on Scottish whisky and salmon exports to the United States.

The Trump White House has embraced Starmer from the outset. The president consistently praises the prime minister, whom he considers a friend, and favored the conclusion of a trade agreement favorable to London in the first months of his second term.

This visit has been overshadowed, however, by the Mandelson scandal. The former minister during Tony Blair’s New Labour era was appointed British ambassador to Washington by Starmer, who banked on his political and social skills to win over the Trump administration. Last Thursday, he was summarily dismissed from his post after letters and messages with Epstein came to light, in which he questioned his conviction for the sexual assault of minors and encouraged him to take a legal stand.

Just hours earlier, Starmer had continued to defend his ambassador in the UK parliament, even though it was becoming clear that Downing Street was already aware of Mandelson’s shady relationship with Epstein.

The scandal broke just days before the visit of Trump, who is currently also haunted by the shadow of the late billionaire pedophile. It’s probably the issue he least expected to encounter during his stay in the United Kingdom, which was to be filled with protocol, military parades, banquets, and even an air display featuring the famous Red Arrows fighter jets, much to the glory and adulation of the American president.

But the scandal has also stirred the internal waters of the Labour Party and the government’s parliamentary group, to the point that some MPs have dared to publicly demand that Starmer exert order over Downing Street and his political project, if he does not want to leave government prematurely. The next electoral challenge will take place in May, with the regional elections in Scotland and Wales, as well as municipal elections in some regions in England. “I think it’s inevitable that if May’s elections go as people predict, and the opinion polls predict, then I think Starmer will be gone at that time,” warned Richard Burgon, one of the left-wing MPs in the party who once supported Jeremy Corbyn and could plot an internal revolt in the immediate future.

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