The pair will spend about an hour together in the first visit by a foreign leader to the White House since Mr Trump was sworn in last week.

The meeting came after Mrs May told US Republicans the UK and US could not return to "failed" military interventions "to remake the world in our own image".

However Sir Michael Fallon, the British defence secretary, said this morning that this did not mean the UK would unilaterally shy away from intervening militarily overseas.

The key points they will discuss:

- Trade deal: Mrs May and Mr Trump will seek to find common ground on trade and lay the groundwork for a new deal after Britain leaves the European Union around March 2019. Mr Trump is keen to agree deal within three months.

- Defence: Mrs May will be keen to ensure that Mr Trump remains fully committee to the Nato military alliance which is a vital organisation to keep Russia in check in eastern Europe. Both leaders are expected to urge other Nato countries increase their defence spending to 2 per cent of gross national product.

- Russia: Mrs May and Mr Trump will discuss the West`s concern about Russia. Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will speak directly for the first time since the US president`s inauguration in a telephone call on Saturday.

The meeting comes a day after Theresa May addressed Republicans in Philadelphia. The Prime Minister said relations between the UK and the US have "defined the world," delivering a speech greeted by frequent loud applause.

“I speak to you not just as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, but as a fellow Conservative who believes in the same principles that underpin the agenda of your Party," the Prime Minister said on Thursday.

“The value of liberty. The dignity of work. The principles of nationhood, family, economic prudence, patriotism – and putting power in the hands of the people.

“I know that it is these principles that you have put at the heart of your plan for government."

Mrs May, the first foreign leader ever to address the annual Republican gathering, also told the new president not to trust Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader.

"When it comes to Russia, as so often it is wise to turn to the example of President Reagan who - during negotiations with his opposite number Mikhail Gorbachev - used to abide by the adage `trust but verify`," she said.

"With President Putin, my advice is to `engage but beware`.

"We should not jeopardise the freedoms that President Reagan and Mrs Thatcher brought to Eastern Europe by accepting President Putin’s claim that it is now in his sphere of influence."

/The Telegraph/

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