Palace holding talks over plans for King's US visit after DC shooting

King Charles III is "being kept fully informed of developments" after a shooting incident at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, Buckingham Palace has said.

"A number of discussions will be taking place throughout the day to discuss with US colleagues and our respective teams to what degree the events of Saturday evening may or may not impact on the operational planning for the visit," it stated ahead of his trip to the US on Monday.

The King was "greatly relieved" to hear that Donald Trump, Melania Trump and all other guests had been unharmed, it added.

The US president and first lady were evacuated from the Washington DC dinner after a man fired several shots while attempting to enter the venue.

US Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said he was "very confident" the King will be safe during the four-day state visit, in which he will be accompanied by Queen Camilla.

He told NBC News' Meet The Press there was an "all-government approach" to ensure the country was safe and that the events of Saturday night showed the US security system worked.

Blanche added that the suspect will be charged in federal court on Monday and is believed to have been targeting Trump administration officials.

A senior government minister said earlier on Sunday that the King's state visit would have "appropriate security in place in relation to the risk".

Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme that the government and Buckingham Palace had been in "close co-operation" with US officials before the trip.

"Further discussions will be taking place today ahead of next week," he said.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said later on the same programme that it was "vital" to ensure the King was properly protected, and urged US and UK teams to review the monarch's security overnight.

He said security arrangements on such visits were ordinarily very tight but they should be reviewed afresh "to make sure there are no loopholes at all".

But Philp said the trip should "absolutely go ahead" as violence should not be allowed to stop diplomatic relations and politics from continuing as normal.

Footage from the dinner shows senior figures including US Vice-President JD Vance being removed from the stage by armed officers moments after shots rang out.

Trump later told reporters that one Secret Service agent was shot at very close range, but was saved by his bullet-proof vest. The Secret Service, which protects the president and other key officials, confirmed no one else had been injured.

A suspect, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, is from Torrance in the Los Angeles region of California, police said.

Sir Keir Starmer wrote on X that he was shocked by the incident said it was a relief everyone attending the event, including the Trumps, was safe.

"Any attack on democratic institutions or on the freedom of the press must be condemned in the strongest possible terms" the prime minister added.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey likewise condemned the "really shocking scenes", writing on X: "Political violence is wrong. We must all condemn this attack and be thankful no lives were lost."

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said it was a relief that all attendees were safe, adding: "However much we disagree about politics, if violence is used we all lose."

The King and Queen will be hosted by the president during the trip - the first UK state visit to the US since Elizabeth II's in 2007.

The King is expected to address both houses of Congress, visit the 9/11 memorial in New York and attend a wreath laying to honour fallen US and UK soldiers in Virginia.

Even before last night's shooting incident, security for the visit was going to be very tight. Now it will be going up another level.

The royal visit seems to still be going ahead, but with some potential adaptations in the light of any security concerns. This could include considering the King's interactions with the public, as he usually likes to meet crowds on such trips.

When Trump visited the UK last autumn, almost all the events happened inside Windsor Castle. He was carried by helicopter in and out of that secure bubble and behind those walls, and so was kept away from any contact with the public.

For those planning the King and Queen's trip, which has already proved diplomatically complicated, there are now more last-minute decisions to consider.

The visit comes days after reports emerged that the US could review its position on UK sovereignty of the Falklands Islands - something Philp said would be "very reasonable" for the King to raise with the president.

Jones said he could not predict what the King would discuss, but that the government's position on the islands was clear: "The Falklands is British territory and the only people that get to decide otherwise are the islanders themselves."

"The problem is the uncertainty of the president... he will be very effusive about the King, the Royal Family, as he always is, one day. Next day, he rubbishes the prime minister, he goes back again into the feebleness, as he sees it, of the British Navy."