Sunday 20 November 2016 8:21 am

Donald Trump will be invited to meet the Queen at Windsor next year

What a difference a few months makes, eh?

In January, MPs were debating banning Donald Trump from the UK, now apparently he'll be invited to meet the Queen next year.

The President-elect will be invited to meet the Queen, aka ministers' "secret weapon" to try and really cement the UK's special relationship with America.

According to several newspapers, a state visit is being lined up for summer next year. Then a formal invitation will be issued for Trump to make the UK one of his first foreign stops, once he's sworn in as President on 20 January.

The Sunday Times reported that a source at Number 10 confirmed Trump would visit next year, while discussions between British officials and Trump's team are expected to begin soon to get a date in for June or July.

It would also give Prime Minister Theresa May the opportunity to squash claims that UKIP's acting leader Nigel Farage actually has closer links to the incoming President than Downing Street.

A spokesperson for No 10 said: No visit has been organised, but the Prime Minister is looking forward to welcoming the President-elect to the UK when he chooses to visit."

May has been invited to visit Trump at the earliest possible opportunity and she is expected to travel to the US, once he's sworn in as President at the beginning of next year.

A petition to ban Donald Trump from the UK back when he was a US presidential candidate, reached 560,000 signatures after his controversial comments calling for America to ban Muslims. Last year he urged a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on".

The petition was "duly considered" by MPs, though no direct action was taken as a result of the debate and no vote on the issue.

Prime Minister at the time David Cameron, said the remarks were "divisive, stupid and wrong", but made clear he didn't support banning Trump.