Darkest Hour film 'inspires' Trump request to visit Winston Churchill War Rooms

Donald Trump reportedly asked for a private tour of Winston Churchill's War Rooms when he visits the UK after watching Darkest Hour.

The US president reportedly recommended the blockbuster film, starring Gary Oldman, to Prime Minister Theresa May when they spoke on the phone in December.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, a source said Trump was keen to visit the Cabinet War Rooms, where Churchill formulated his World War II strategy, during his state visit from 5 to 8 October.

"He wants to visit the Churchill War Rooms and is very inspired by Darkest Hour," the source said.

The paper reports a source had said it is "plausible" that a visit to the War Rooms "will be included in the itinerary".

Trump also reportedly told the prime minister she could become "this generation's Churchill" during their phone conversation on 19 December.

The US president has long been a supporter of Churchill.

In January 2017, a bust of Churchill was placed back in the White House's Oval Office shortly after Trump was sworn in.

A bust of Churchill first appeared in the Oval Office during George W Bush's administration, after it was loaned to the US by former Prime Minister Tony Blair, but was replaced by a sculpture of Martin Luther King Jr during Barack Obama's presidency.

The bust currently displayed in the Oval Office is not the one loaned by Blair, but one the White House has had since the 1960s.

It had previously been displayed in the private residence.