(Bloomberg) -- Asked what Theresa May thought about Donald Trump’s immigration policy, the prime minister’s spokesman had a pointed answer: “separating children in that way is not something you would expect to see in the United Kingdom.”
Britain does not usually go out of its way to criticize a key ally, with the U.S.-U.K. relationship often referred to as “special,” but relations have been strained by a series of tweets by Trump, from criticism about U.K.’s terrorism policy to its much-loved National Health Care. The U.S. president is due on a state visit to the U.K. next month.
May needed Trump on board when she was looking for international support to kick out Russian diplomats over the spy-poisoning incident. She is also courting the U.S. for a free-trade agreement post-Brexit. Yet the issue of families being divided over the border has been deeply controversial and put Trump in the spotlight.
James Slack, May’s spokesman, was asked: “Does the PM plan to raise the issue of migrants with Donald Trump on his visit?’
His answer: "I can’t predict everything that will be discussed in advance. We are fairly clear on our own position in relation to the treatment of child refugees and refugees in general that we have a humane policy and separating children in that way is not something you would ever expect to see in the United Kingdom."
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