Tillerson visits London embassy after Trump snub

LONDON: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson paid a discreet visit to the new US embassy in London on Monday, after President Donald Trump cancelled plans to open it himself following a series of rows.

Tillerson bucked tradition by not holding a formal meet-and-greet at the new embassy, which the State Department said was due to the current shutdown of the US government over a budget impasse in Congress.

But even before the shutdown, the State Department had already played down Tillerson’s visit to the embassy, which opened last week, because of controversy over Trump’s refusal to inaugurate the new building.

The president said he was unhappy at the cost and location of the new embassy, a futuristic cuboid building surrounded by a moat. But the decision came after a series of rows that have damaged the so-called “special relationship” between the two nations and after it became clear the visit would be met with mass protests.