US President Joe Biden to meet King and Prime Minister during July visit to the UK

A visit to the UK had long been expected and comes after Mr Sunak visited Washington last month for talks with the US president.

"President Biden is scheduled to travel to the United Kingdom, Lithuania, and Finland from July 9-13.

"President Biden will first travel to London, United Kingdom for engagements with King Charles III and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to further strengthen the close relationship between our nations," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

Mr Biden made a brief trip to Northern Ireland earlier this year to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, meeting the Prime Minister for brief talks in Belfast.

The White House said that after visiting the UK Mr Biden would "then travel to Vilnius, Lithuania from July 11- 12 to attend the 74th Nato Summit".

"On July 13, President Biden will visit Helsinki, Finland for a US-Nordic Leaders Summit."

The apparently short trip by Mr Biden comes after the US and the UK announced a new partnership, the "Atlantic Declaration", to bolster economic security.

Announced during Mr Sunak's visit to the White House, it included commitments on easing trade barriers, closer defence industry ties and a data protection deal.

While both sides used that Washington visit to hail the strength of US-UK ties, Mr Biden has not been afraid of occasionally criticising London.

Mr Biden in May claimed that he visited the island of Ireland earlier this year to ensure the "Brits didn't screw around", amid ongoing American concern about the impact of Brexit on the peace process.

During that visit, the President told the Irish parliament in Dublin that he believed the UK should be working more closely with the administration in the south of Ireland to support Northern Ireland.