According to the Daily Mirror, Boris Johnson, the former foreign secretary and favourite in the contest to succeed Theresa May, has had a “friendly” 20-minute conversation with President Trump. But Johnson turned down an invitation to meet Trump tonight because he is due to attend a private hustings organised by One Nation Tories in the Commons, the Mirror reports.
During the visit to Downing Street, the PM and president, along with their spouses, viewed the Sussex Declaration – a rare copy of the American Declaration of Independence on sheepskin parchment dating back to the 1780s, the Press Association reports.
As anti-Trump protesters began their slow march down Whitehall hundreds of placards remained on the ground around Trafalgar Square, suggesting that organisers had not achieved the numbers expected, or indeed matched those of the last Trump demo.
The square had not quite been filled. Nevertheless, and as promised by organisers, and despite persistent drizzle, there was indeed a carnival atmosphere on the demonstration, with samba bands and whistles accompanying the thousands slowly streaming towards parliament.
They will only make it halfway. Police have erected barricades along Whitehall to prevent protests outside Downing Street. Instead the demonstration will halt at the Women of World War Two memorial, where a stage will feature speakers, then take a circuitous route to Parliament Square for a mass rally.
