A LONG shadow will be cast across the UK when Donald Trump visits these shores in July.

The president will arrive on the same day as a partial solar eclipse, when the moon moves in front of the sun and blocks out the sky. What’s more, the White House has announced that the President will visit the UK on Friday the 13th.

Eclipses have long been feared as harbingers of great change or danger.

It is not the first time that an eclipse has overlapped with Mr Trump’s presidency. When the US was visited by a total solar eclipse last year he made the news for looking directly at the sun despite all medical advice, and then proceeded to tweet a bizarre picture in which he appeared to eclipse President Obama

Apparently not superstitious, Mr Trump has chosen a date seen as unlucky for his bilateral talks with Theresa May. It falls short of the full state visit he once hoped for, and will be a ‘working visit’ with no reception from the Queen.

Some think the choice of date is a PR gaffe, while others have gone further and claimed the scheduling is apt given the huge protests his visit is likely to inspire. Even his supporters have urged him to stay away from London in an effort to avoid mass demonstrations.

Whatever the personal opinions of those British people who regard Mr Trump as a buffoon, sexist, mysogonist prone to making racist comments, it is right that Mrs May continues to do business with our allies – and our enemies. Keeping them in the dark is not a sensible option.