The US Ambassador to London has defended its new embassy after President Donald Trump said the building was the product of a “bad deal”.
Woody Johnson, who was appointed by Mr Trump, said the new embassy in Nine Elms, south of the Thames, had “not cost the US taxpayer a cent” and was “bigger and better” than the old one in Grosvenor Square in Mayfair.
In a tweet, Mr Trump said he was cancelling his visit to open the new embassy because he was “not a big fan” of a previous US administration “having sold perhaps the best located and finest embassy in London for ‘peanuts’ only to build a new one in an off location for 1.2 billion dollars”.
Reason I canceled my trip to London is that I am not a big fan of the Obama Administration having sold perhaps the best located and finest embassy in London for “peanuts,” only to build a new one in an off location for 1.2 billion dollars. Bad deal. Wanted me to cut ribbon-NO!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2018
