UK MPs call for Trump to be stripped of ‘full courtesy’ of state visit

Thousands of demonstrators rallied outside the UK Parliament yesterday as MPs debated Prime Minister Theresa May’s invitation for US President Donald Trump to meet the Queen.

The debate came in response to an online petition signed by 1.8 million people who oppose Trump’s state visit to the UK. The debate also considered another petition, signed by around 312,000 people, demanding that the state visit – due later this year – goes ahead.

Protesters carried placards reading “No to Trump” and “Theresa the appeaser”, while chanting in rejection of Trump’s policies. May has also been criticised for offering Trump a state visit only seven days into his already highly controversial presidency, while it took 758 days for Barack Obama and 978 days for George W Bush to be accorded theirs.

In its official response to the petitions, the UK Government said the invitation still stands, adding: “The President of the United States should be extended the full courtesy of a state visit.”

“We look forward to welcoming President Trump once dates and arrangements are finalised.”

The debate in parliament went ahead anyway, due to the popularity of the petition. During the debate, Labour MP and petitions committee member Paul Flynn said Trump is only the third US president to be given the honour of a state visit to the UK, adding that it was “completely unprecedented” that Trump had been invited so soon into his presidency.

He urged the government to “change the invitation to one for a visit, not a state visit,” pointing out that the Queen has now been put in a “very difficult position”.

MPs have also warned that such a hasty offer my give a sense of desperation for a US-UK trade deal.

“This country is so desperate for a trade deal,” Labour MP David Lammy said, adding that he was “ashamed it has come to this.”

The calls for the state visit to be cancelled have also been backed by London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan. Earlier this year, Parliament Speaker John Bercow became entangled in the controversy after effectively banning Trump from addressing MPs in Westminster Hall during his visit.

Protesters rally outside the British Parliament in London on 20 February 2017 demanding US President Donald Trump’s planned state visit be cancelled [Jehan Alfarra/Middle East Monitor]

Protesters rally outside the British Parliament in London on 20 February 2017 demanding US President Donald Trump’s planned state visit be cancelled [Jehan Alfarra/Middle East Monitor]

Protesters rally outside the British Parliament in London on 20 February 2017 demanding US President Donald Trump’s planned state visit be cancelled [Jehan Alfarra/Middle East Monitor]

Protesters rally outside the British Parliament in London on 20 February 2017 demanding US President Donald Trump’s planned state visit be cancelled [Jehan Alfarra/Middle East Monitor]

Protesters rally outside the British Parliament in London on 20 February 2017 demanding US President Donald Trump’s planned state visit be cancelled [Jehan Alfarra/Middle East Monitor]

Protesters rally outside the British Parliament in London on 20 February 2017 demanding US President Donald Trump’s planned state visit be cancelled [Jehan Alfarra/Middle East Monitor]

Protesters rally outside the British Parliament in London on 20 February 2017 demanding US President Donald Trump’s planned state visit be cancelled [Jehan Alfarra/Middle East Monitor]

Protesters rally outside the British Parliament in London on 20 February 2017 demanding US President Donald Trump’s planned state visit be cancelled [Jehan Alfarra/Middle East Monitor]

Protesters rally outside the British Parliament in London on 20 February 2017 demanding US President Donald Trump’s planned state visit be cancelled [Jehan Alfarra/Middle East Monitor]

Protesters rally outside the British Parliament in London on 20 February 2017 demanding US President Donald Trump’s planned state visit be cancelled [Jehan Alfarra/Middle East Monitor]

Protesters rally outside the British Parliament in London on 20 February 2017 demanding US President Donald Trump’s planned state visit be cancelled [Jehan Alfarra/Middle East Monitor]

Protesters rally outside the British Parliament in London on 20 February 2017 demanding US President Donald Trump’s planned state visit be cancelled [Jehan Alfarra/Middle East Monitor]

Protesters rally outside the British Parliament in London on 20 February 2017 demanding US President Donald Trump’s planned state visit be cancelled [Tolga Akmen/Anadolu Agency]

Protesters rally outside the British Parliament in London on 20 February 2017 demanding US President Donald Trump’s planned state visit be cancelled [Tolga Akmen/Anadolu Agency]

Protesters rally outside the British Parliament in London on 20 February 2017 demanding US President Donald Trump’s planned state visit be cancelled [Tolga Akmen/Anadolu Agency]