Theresa May 'struggles to speak for ten seconds in one-sided phone calls with Donald Trump', insiders claim

Theresa May struggles to speak for more than ten seconds before being interrupted in official phone calls with Donald Trump, according to new claims.

The leaders’ conversations are so one-sided that Mrs May has “five or ten seconds to speak before he interrupts and launches into another monologue”, Bloomberg reported.

Citing anonymous insiders and former government officials, the report claimed the so-called ‘special relationship’ has soured over the last year.

Mrs May and Mr Trump will meet at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday. However, the US president is expected to use the event to invite French leader Emmanuel Macron on a state visit in a further snub for the Prime Minister.

In January 2017, Mrs May took the unprecedented step of inviting the newly-inaugurated president on a state visit to the UK.

But the visit has not materialised and last month Mr Trump pulled out of a trip to London to open the new US embassy amid fears over mass street protests. Officially, his decision was put down to unhappiness about the embassy’s cost and location south of the river.

One insider told Bloomberg that Mr Trump complained to Mrs May about the criticism he had been receiving in the British press.

“He told her he would not be coming to the UK until she could promise him a warm welcome,” they said.

The Prime Minister reportedly responded that it was “simply the way the British press operate, and there wasn’t much she could do”.

Last month, the two leaders engaged in a public Twitter spat after Mr Trump retweeted three unverified, inflammatory, anti-Islam videos posted by far-right group Britain First.

Mr Trump's Davos visit has sparked some protests in Switzerland, with demonstrators saying he is not welcome because of his controversial tweets, his "America First" stance, and trade policies which have caused controversy across the world.

The World Economic Forum, which began on Tuesday, has brought together elites from across the globe since it began as a small huddle in the 1970s.

This year, more than 900 chief executives and 70 world leaders are attending with Mr Trump expected to attract the most attention when he flies in from Washington.