Obama, Cameron meet as Britain debates leaving European Union

LONDON — Lending political backup to a struggling friend, President Barack Obama made a forceful plea Friday for Britons to heed Prime Minister David Cameron’s call to stay in the European Union and dismissed critics who accused the U.S. president of meddling in British affairs.

Standing aside Cameron at a news conference at 10 Downing Street, Obama said Britain’s power is amplified by its membership in the 28-nation union, not diminished. He delivered an almost sentimental appeal to the “special relationship” between the two countries and cast a grim picture of the economic stakes_saying flatly the U.S. would not rush to write a free trade deal with Great Britain if it voted to exit.

“Let me be clear, ultimately, this is something the British voters have to decide for themselves. But as part of our special relationship, part of being friends, is to be honest and to let you know what I think,” Obama said. “And speaking honestly, the outcome of that decision is a matter of deep interest to the United States, because it affects our prospects as well. The United States wants a strong United Kingdom as a partner, and the United Kingdom is at its best when it’s helping to lead a strong Europe.”

Obama spoke on the first full day of a three-day visit to London, likely the last of this presidency. Coming two months before a June referendum on leaving the union, Obama plunged himself into heated debate about Britain’s national identity, immigration policy, economic fairness and the trust in institutions.

Polls suggest it will be a close vote, with most phone polls indicating a lead to remain in the union while some online polls put the other side ahead.

Justice Minister Dominic Raab, a leader of the Leave campaign, said Britons shouldn’t put stock in Obama’s view.

“He argued that he thinks it is in America’s interests for the U.K. to stay in the E.U. but what is good for U.S. politicians is not necessarily good for the British people,” Raab said in a statement.

Obama had been expected to tread carefully on the issue, mindful that intervention in a domestic matter could turn some voters off. But the president did not appear to be holding back. Although he couched his views as “my opinion,” he also accused his critics of being “afraid to hear an argument being made.”

The president hasn’t always had such an open view of allies dipping into each other’s domestic debates. Last year, he criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for coming to the U.S. to deliver a speech urging Congress to reject Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran. The president called the speech a “distraction” and said that because it came close to an Israeli election, it “makes it look like we are taking sides.”

In 2014, Obama was far more restrained during the U.K. referendum on Scottish independence. He delicately expressed his view in favor of unity months before the vote. And when the race tightened he weighed in from afar — with a tweet.

On Friday, Obama echoed several of the arguments Cameron and other Remain advocates have been making for weeks — with an added punch only Obama could deliver. He noted some have suggested that if Britain exited the European Union, the U.S. and United Kingdom would quickly arrange a bilateral free trade deal to soften the blow to British businesses. Obama said the U.S. is focused on negotiating the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the E.U.

A U.S.-U.K. trade deal might happen someday, but “it’s not going to happen anytime soon,” he said, adding the U.K. would have to get “in the back of the queue.”

Face time with queen, princes completes Obama’s royal visit

Obama plunged into a whirlwind of royal socializing Friday that began over a birthday lunch with Queen Elizabeth II and ended at a dinner hosted by the trio of young royals who represent the future of the British monarchy.

Obama, accompanied by his wife, Michelle, arrived by helicopter on the verdant grounds of Windsor Castle, the sprawling, centuries-old royal residence and tourist lure located just west of London where the queen celebrated her 90th birthday a day earlier.

With a patterned scarf tied around her head in a light drizzle, the queen climbed from the dark blue Range Rover that her husband, Prince Philip, drove to the landing area for Britain’s oldest and longest-serving monarch to welcome her third U.S. president to the castle.

The couples shook hands before climbing into the vehicle — ladies in the back seat — for the short ride to the castle. Inside, the queen led the group into a sitting room warmed by a fire and asked the president where he wanted to sit.

“The queen has been a source of inspiration for me,” Obama said later at a news conference alongside British Prime Minister David Cameron. “She is truly one of my favorite people … an astonishing person.”

Obama capped the day with a trip to Kensington Palace, where he and the first lady were invited for dinner with Prince William, his wife, Kate, and his brother, Prince Harry. William is second in line to ascend to the throne after his father, Prince Charles.