1M Brits ask government to cancel Trump state visit

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) - Thousands of people are expected to attend a London rally on Monday to condemn a controversial entry ban introduced by U.S. President Donald Trump.

More than a million people have also signed a petition on the British parliament’s website calling for the cancellation of an invitation to Trump to make an official state visit to the U.K.

The invitation was extended by British premier Theresa May during her Friday visit to the White House.

Now the British government is under immense pressure from opposition parties, individual lawmakers, the public and the media about a proper response to the executive order signed by Trump in his first week in the White House.

Trump said he had identified seven Muslim-majority nations for the travel ban from a government report on terror-prone states prepared during the Barack Obama administration.

The British petition does not call for Trump to be barred from the U.K. but does say any official state visit should be axed “because it would cause embarrassment to Her Majesty, the Queen”.

The petition also claimed Trump’s “well documented misogyny and vulgarity” disqualified him from meeting the Queen or other British royals.

At 100,000 signatures, petitions are considered for debate in the U.K. parliament.

A previous petition calling for a ban on Donald Trump from entering the U.K. attracted more than 500,000 signatures last year before the U.S. presidential election.

However, it is unlikely the state visit invitation will be withdrawn.

-'Divisive and wrong'

A statement by the U.K. government on Sunday said May did not agree with Trump's ban and would make representations if it affected Britons.

The statement came shortly after May’s return from Turkey and following her Friday trip to the White House. During both visits, May had refused to condemn Trump’s executive order.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is expected to reply to questions about the effects of the travel ban on British citizens at the House of Commons.

A Sunday statement by Britain’s Foreign Office said the controversial ban would not affect British citizens when travelling to the U.S. but added that “the only dual nationals who might have extra checks are those coming from one of the seven countries themselves -- for example a U.K.-Libya dual national coming from Libya to the U.S.”

However, a U.K. Foreign Office minister, Tobias Ellwood, took to social media on Monday to criticize the checks on dual nationals.

“It's divisive & wrong to stigmatize because of nationality,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, a march to the U.K. premier’s Downing Street residence is expected to attract thousands of Londoners on Monday, after more than 16,000 people said they would attend it in an online campaign.