Barack Obama will make his own decision about whether to intervene in the EU referendum during his trip to the UK this week, Downing Street has said.
The US president is having lunch with the Queen at Windsor Castle to celebrate her 90th birthday and will be in bilateral talks with David Cameron on Friday.
Campaigners for the UK to stay in the EU will be hoping he also takes the opportunity to express worries about the potential for Brexit to cause a global economic shock.
Ahead of the trip, the prime minister’s official spokeswoman stressed the UK and US work closely together on protecting security and the economy.
“It is an opportunity for the prime minister to engage with the leader of a country with whom we have a special and a central relationship, is a partner in the G7 and G20 and where we are working together to advance our interests in terms of security and the economy,” she said.
However, Downing Street dismissed the idea that Cameron had been on bended-knee begging Obama to warn against Brexit during his visit.
Asked whether Cameron was hoping Obama would make a strong intervention, his spokeswoman said: “That will be for the president to decide.”
The White House has previously made his view known that the president supports a “a strong UK in the European Union”.
But the president’s deputy national security adviser, Ben Rhodes, said on Friday: “He will make very clear that this is a matter the British people should decide when they head to the polls in June.
“We believe that all of us benefit when the EU can speak with a strong and a single voice and can work with us to advance our shared interests whether on security or prosperity. We believe that the UK has benefited from the single market that is good for the British economy and that, in turn, is good for the United States economy.”
Obama will have to strike a delicate balance given the potential for a backlash among UK voters if he weighs in strongly against Brexit with two months remaining before the polls on 23 June.
Last week, Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader, branded Obama the “most anti-British American president there has ever been”, adding that he hoped he would be “replaced by somebody rather more sensible when it comes to trading relationships with this country”.
The US president is also expected to host a “town hall” event with young people at the Royal Horticultural Halls on Saturday, before staying the night and departing for Germany on Sunday.
On Friday, Obama will be joined by his first lady, Michelle, for the lunch hosted by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.
In the evening they will have a private dinner with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry at Kensington Palace.
A Kensington Palace spokesman said: “Their Royal Highnesses are very much looking forward to welcoming President and Mrs Obama to Kensington Palace.”
The US first couple have a warm relationship with the British royals. They met the newlywed Cambridges in the 1844 Room of Buckingham Palace during a 2011 US state visit to the UK.
The president welcomed William to the Oval Office in Washington in 2014, and last year Michelle Obama presented gifts to the Cambridges’ two children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, during a whirlwind trip to the UK.
The first lady, a keen supporter of forces’ families in the US, has also met Prince Harry through his support of wounded military personnel.
In an ITV documentary to mark the start of the Queen’s 10th decade, the president praised her “generous human touch” and credited her with helping maintain the special relationship between the UK and US.
