Top Tories have urged Keir Starmer to axe Donald Trump's second state visit - insisting that the King should not have to make up for the PM's "diplomatic failings".
One shadow minister has demanded that any such trip should be cancelled until "the steadfastness of the US's commitment to her allies is assured".
When Starmer held his bilateral meeting with Donald Trump in Washington DC last week, the PM offered the President a letter from His Majesty, inviting him for a second state visit - just one day before his clash with Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
However, since Potus's bust-up with the Ukrainian President in the White House, shadow home affairs minister Alicia Kearns has come out and urged the PM to cancel the upcoming state visit: "State visits should be conferred to the most honourable of allies, not to curry favour.
Kearns dubbed the White House bust-up a "degrading spectacle" and "performative bullying for a US audience" by the Republican
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"No state visit should proceed until the steadfastness of the US’s commitment to her allies is assured. His Majesty should not have to carry the weight of Keir’s diplomatic failings."
She further dubbed the White House bust-up a "degrading spectacle" and "performative bullying for a US audience" by the Republican, while also stressing that Zelensky is "fighting for the survival of his people - an innocent people being murdered by a barbaric imperialist and dictator".
The ex-Tory leader Michael Howard mentioned that it would be "extraordinary difficult" for King Charles due to the "disgraceful behaviour" of Trump and his Vice President, although he mentioned: "Sometimes we have to do things we don’t like to try to gain things for our country."
He added that a state visit might be one of the ways in which the UK can "exert a smidgen of influence" to "moderate the behaviour of this dreadful administration".
Meanwhile, former defence minister - who is also a British-American citizen - Tobias Ellwood said: "It would be inappropriate to place the King in the position of hosting the President if US foreign policy shifts away from its long-standing support for Ukraine and toward alignment with Russia’s security objectives."
In response, Kemi Badenoch's spokesman emphasised that individual MPs' personal views are not official Conservative Party positions.
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"In practical terms, the state visit is a matter for the King who extended the invitation, and not for MPs. As Kemi said on TV this morning, it is imperative that the UK remains close to America and they don’t disengage from NATO if we are going to get a just and lasting peace for Ukraine," he added.
A White House source has revealed that redacting such an invitation would be "very unwise unless the UK wants to do undo all the goodwill generated by the Prime Minister's trip", the Daily Mail reports.
They have suggested that the best approach would be for Starmer to "persuade" Zelensky to apologise to Trump and all Americans.
"President Trump thinks King Charles is a wonderful man and is very much looking forward to seeing him and other senior members of the Royal Family when he makes his historic trip," they added.
Just yesterday, Zelensky posted online: "We are very grateful to the United States for all the support. I’m thankful to President Trump, Congress for their bipartisan support, and American people. Ukrainians have always appreciated this support, especially during these three years of full-scale invasion."
He acknowledged that American support was "vital" in their survival and that, despite the "tough dialogue", the two nations have remained strategic partners.
"It’s crucial for us to have President Trump’s support. He wants to end the war, but no one wants peace more than we do. We are the ones living this war in Ukraine. It’s a fight for our freedom, for our very survival," he added.
Starmer welcomed Zelensky to Downing Street yesterday afternoon with open arms
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The criticism has followed the furious clash between Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump in the White House on Friday - causing the US President to say that the war-time leader was "gambling with World War Three".
Zelensky is due to meet the King at his Sandringham Estate later today as well as attend a European summit at Lancaster House in London.
Fresh off his heated altercation with Trump, Starmer welcomed Zelensky to Downing Street yesterday afternoon, telling the leader that he and Ukraine had "full backing across the United Kingdom" and that Britain will stand with Ukraine "for as long as it may take".
He reiterated that they hope to achieve "what they both want" which is "a lasting peace".
They conducted private talks in No10 a day ahead of the European summit, which is to be attended by the leaders of Ukraine, France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Canada, Finland, Sweden, Czechia and Romania.
The Turkish Foreign Minister, NATO Secretary General and the Presidents of the European Commission and European Council will be attending the crunch talks.
