Theresa May marks last press meet with message of compromise for Trump

LONDON: Theresa May on Tuesday marked her last major press conference as British Prime Minister with a message of cooperation and compromise for US President Donald Trump, who is in the UK on a three-day state visit.

May, who is set to formally resign as Prime Minister following the state visit on Friday, addressed the US President by his first name at several points to reiterate points of difference between the two leaders during a customary joint news conference at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) following their bilateral talks at Downing Street.

"Like Prime Ministers and Presidents before us, and no doubt those that will come after – we can also differ sometimes on how to confront the challenges we face… I have always believed that cooperation and compromise are the basis of strong alliances, and nowhere is this more true than in the special relationship,” said May in her remarks.

"Today, we have discussed again the importance of our two nations working together to address Iran's destabilising activity in the region and to ensure Tehran cannot acquire a nuclear weapon. Although we differ on the means of achieving that – as I have said before, the UK continues to stand by the nuclear deal – it is clear we both want to reach the same goal,” she said, in reference Trump pulling the US out of the nuclear deal with Iran.

In reference to a few other issues which have attracted negative comments from the US President in the past, May also stressed upon the Paris Agreement as an important basis to tackle climate change and the economic significance of China.

During his press statement, Trump went on to repeat his reference to wanting a "phenomenal" trade deal with the UK, suggesting it could double or treble trade once the UK had left the European Union (EU). He lamented that May had not received the “credit she deserves” for her leadership in the Brexit negotiations.

When asked about the Opposition Labour Party's boycott of his state visit and his direct attacks on London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Trump described both Khan and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as "negative" and repeated the sentiments from his previous Twitter messages saying the London Mayor was doing a "terrible job".

He also revealed that Corbyn, who addressed a protest rally at Trafalgar Square attacking the US President as divisive just moments before, had reached out to his team seeking a meeting but he had refused to meet the Opposition leader due to the negativity.

"There were thousands of people on the streets cheering," said Trump, when asked to comment on the protests against his visit, which he dismissed as "fake news".

Trump, along with US First Lady Melania Trump, then proceeded for a tour of the Churchill War Rooms, just around the corner from the UK Foreign Office after the news conference.

They then flew out by helicopter from the Buckingham Palace grounds to head back to their base at the US Ambassador's residence of Winfield House near London's Regent's Park.

The Trumps are set to host a dinner at Winfield House on Tuesday night, seen as a return banquet for the state banquet hosted by Queen Elizabeth II on Monday evening. The guests will include Prince Charles and wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, who will attend on behalf of the Queen.