It would be a mistake to cancel King’s visit to the US, ambassador to UK says

It would be a “very big mistake” to cancel the King’s planned state visit to the US, Washington’s ambassador to the UK has said.

There have been calls for the historic royal trip to be scrapped or delayed because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

But Warren Stephens argued it would be wrong to call off the trip, which has not yet been officially announced.

In a question-and-answer session after his speech to the British Chambers of Commerce conference in London on Thursday, Mr Stephens said: “I think that would be a very big mistake.”

He said he could not confirm the visit, but added: “I think he will go and I think it will be a very meaningful trip for him.”

The diplomat said US House Speaker Mike Johnson had made an offer for Charles to address both Houses of Congress while he was there.

US President Donald Trump last week declared the visit was going ahead, saying the monarch was coming to see him “very shortly” and that he was “looking forward” to it.

The overseas tour has yet to be officially announced, but the King and Queen are expected to visit Washington and New York in April to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence.

Downing Street declined to set out when the visit might happen, with the Prime Minister’s official spokesman telling reporters: “We’re just not going to comment on something that hasn’t yet been confirmed.”

Mr Trump has lashed out at the UK’s response to US calls for support in the Iran conflict and repeatedly criticised Sir Keir Starmer as “no Winston Churchill”.

Asked about the jibe against the Prime Minister, Mr Stephens said: “Well, that’s a pretty tough comparison for anyone.”

Despite concerns that the special relationship has broken down, the ambassador struck an optimistic tone about the two nations’ ties.

Asked whether the UK’s reluctance to support the military action in the Middle East was holding back its trade relationship with America, he said: “I’m unaware of anything that’s being held back because of that.

“When I got in this position, the depth of the ties between the US intelligence community and the British intelligence community, and our militaries, is frankly astounding. And those two things, in addition to the businesses here, make the relationship unbreakable.

“While there has not been any direct engagement by the UK or any Nato country militarily other than defensive, the intelligence has been vital and very useful to the United States and Israel, I’m sure.”

Mr Trump’s representative in the UK also appeared to acknowledge the destabilising effects of the Iran war on global markets.

After detailing his boss’s measures on the economy, he said in his speech: “Stock markets in the UK, Europe, Japan and South Korea are all up since President Trump has taken these actions, or at least they were when this speech was written.”

To laughter in the room, he said: “Kind of funny.”

The ambassador also echoed the president’s repeated criticism about the UK’s intention to shift away from fossil fuels.

He said high UK energy costs were too high for US businesses, adding: “Frankly, that is a concern of UK companies as well, because the UK could certainly have more influence over its domestic energy pricing, if not be a price setter, by using its domestic fossil fuel reserves.

“The solution here is energy addition, not subtraction. In the modern economy, we need all forms of energy on the table, including oil and gas.”

Mr Stephens said he had hoped UK-US trade would pick up after Brexit, but that “really hasn’t happened”.

He said the tax on importing Scotch whisky into the US was a “big point of contention”, adding that he “used to be a pretty active consumer” of the drink and that a lower price would be “welcome”.