LONDON—Relations between the U.S. and Britain appeared further strained on Thursday after President Donald Trumpshared inflammatory anti-Islam videos posted by a U.K. far-right group, as British lawmakers called on the prime minister to rescind an invitation to the U.S. leader for a state visit.

The sudden tension between the U.S. and its close ally is especially uncomfortable for Prime Minister Theresa May’s government, which has a close security relationship with the U.S. and is seeking to bolster ties as it prepares to exit the European Union in early 2019. She has tried to strike a careful balance as she faces pressure at home over relations with a U.S. leader who is unpopular with many in her home country.

Speaking in Amman, Jordan, during a trip to the Middle East, Mrs. May reiterated that Mr. Trump shouldn’t have circulated the videos posted by fringe group Britain First but said plans for a state visit next year remain in place. A date hasn’t yet been set.

“The fact that we work together does not mean that we are afraid to say we think the United States has got it wrong,” she said. “I’m very clear that retweeting from Britain First was the wrong thing to do.”

A rare public spat between London and Washington has flared up, in light of intelligence leaks to the media following the Manchester terror attack. WSJ's Tanya Rivero has three things to know about the imbroglio with our closest intelligence ally. Photo: AP (Originally published May 26, 2017)

But she added that the U.K. and U.S. relationship can weather occasional disagreements. “This is a long-term special relationship that we have. It’s an enduring relationship that is there because it is in both our national interests,” she said.


The president on Wednesday retweeted anti-Islam videos posted on Twitter by Britain First, sparking widespread anger among Britain’s political class, who sharply criticized Mr. Trump in Parliament and in messages on the social-media platform directed at the White House.

Their anger was further inflamed by Mr. Trump’s online rebuke to Mrs. May after her spokesman said Wednesday he shouldn’t have shared the videos. “Don’t focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom. We are doing just fine!” the president wrote on Twitter.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who has clashed with Mr. Trump, said that Mr. Trump’s actions amounted to a betrayal of the “special relationship” between the U.S. and the U.K.

“The prime minister of our country should be using any influence she and her government claim to have with the president and his administration to ask him to delete these tweets and to apologize to the British people,” Mr. Khan said.


In Parliament on Thursday, lawmakers called on the government to cancel Mr. Trump’s visit.

“We cannot simply roll out a red carpet and give a platform for the president of the United States to also sow discord in our communities,” said Yvette Cooper, a lawmaker in the main opposition Labour Party.

The videos purport to show violent acts carried out by Muslims. The Dutch embassy tweeted that the description of one of them, which claimed to show a migrant in the Netherlands attacking a young man on crutches, was false, and that the perpetrator was born and raised in the country.

They were originally posted by Jayda Fransen, deputy leader of Britain First, who was convicted in 2016 of religiously aggravated harassment and is currently awaiting trial on a separate charge of using threatening or abusive language during a speech earlier this year.

Mrs. May has sought to build ties with Mr. Trump’s administration, not only to preserve the U.K.’s close security cooperation with the U.S., but also to lay the groundwork for a hoped-for free-trade accord after the U.K. leaves the EU.


Christopher Meyer, Britain’s ambassador to the U.S. from 1997 to 2003, said that at such a delicate moment it would be counterproductive for Mrs. May to rescind her invitation to Mr. Trump for a state visit.

“It would do a lot of damage just at the moment we don’t want that,” he said, referring to Britain’s turn away from the EU. “Suddenly you would find yourself fighting on two fronts.”

Mrs. May’s political opponents, though, said the episode shows that leaving the EU and trying to forge closer ties with the U.S. is a risky strategy.

Vince Cable, leader of the pro-EU Liberal Democrats, said in a message on his official Twitter account that, right now, Britain appears isolated and alone.


“The solution is clear: an exit from Brexit and a divorce from Trump,” he said.

—Wiktor Szary in London contributed to this article.

Write to Jason Douglas at jason.douglas@wsj.com and Jenny Gross at jenny.gross@wsj.com