U.S. President Donald Trump's administration intends to accept a Boeing 747-8 airplane as a gift from the Qatari royal family that would be outfitted to serve as Air Force One, according to a source briefed on the matter.

Donald Trump has defended a plan for the US to accept a $400mn jumbo jet from Qatar “free of charge” after Democrats criticised the move as “corruption in plain sight”.

The value of the gift and its handling is sure to raise legal and ethical questions among critics.