Members of British Parliament on Monday debated whether or not to ban the GOP nominee from entering the country, after an online petition – sparked by his call for Muslims to be barred from entering the US – amassed in excess of 500,000 signatures.
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As thousands of people signed the petition to ban U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump from entering the U.K, British MPs met Monday to debate the call.
Last month, Trump provoked controversy with his comments that Muslims should be banned from entering the United States, after 14 people died in a shooting spree in California by two Muslims, whom the Federal Bureau of Investigation said had been radicalised.
Under British law, any issue with more than 100,000 petition signers, with verified email addresses, automatically triggers parliamentary debate.
Citing the fact that almost 600,000 people signed the petition, she called Trump “a poisonous, corrosive man” whose words “risk inflaming tension between vulnerable communities”.
Labour Party leader Paul Flynn said, meanwhile, that he didn’t want to give Trump the “halo of victimhood”, and that the politician had already received “far too much attention”.
There are moments when Britain’s Parliament seems to be the nation’s debating chamber, when it’s possible to imagine the country listening as members discuss matters of peace and war.
U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at the South Carolina Tea Party Coalition Convention in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on Saturday.
“ISIS needs Donald Trump and Donald Trump needs ISIS”, Dromey said.
Others said Trump should actually be invited to Britain to see what life is really like.
She said Trump was a danger to public safety and her constituents were anxious, as hate crimes had risen in line with the rise of such rhetoric.
But Trump hasn’t taken the issue lightly, threatening to halt investment plans totaling more than $1 billion in Scotland if he gets turned away.
Dr Sarah Woollaston, a Conservative MP, said: “Just reflect on the consequences of your kind of religious bigotry, think again”.
SHAPIRO: There was also a very pragmatic argument against banning Trump.
It was a Scottish journalist and activist, Suzanne Kelly, who created the anti-Trump petition in November.
According to the BBC, Conservative Home Secretary Theresa May has banned more than 200 people since 2010.
“Why don’t we roast Trump instead?”
Labour MP Naz Shah: “I would give Donald Trump an open invitation to visit my constituency…”
And Ms Ahmed-Sheikh said Mr Trump’s comments made the United Kingdom an “uncomfortable place” for her and other Muslims to live in.
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The debate did not end in a vote and does not have any influence on Government policy.
