Story highlights
- Parliament debate is in response to a petition launched over Donald Trump's remarks about Muslims
- No vote will be held over the debate, and Britain's Prime Minister says he doesn't support any ban
London (CNN)For Donald Trump, in politics as in life, it seems the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.
But
Monday, the Republican presidential candidate is entering unfamiliar
territory, even by his larger-than-life standards, as members of the
British Parliament hold a debate over a petition calling for the U.S.
businessman-turned-politician to be banned from the country.
The
unconventional debate is unlikely to result in any practical move by
Parliament. No vote will be held at the end of the debate, and
politicians are expected to treat it more as an opportunity to air their
views on the divisive Republican under the protection of parliamentary
privilege, which legally shields them from accusations of defamation or
slander.
Scottish freelance journalist
and activist Suzanne Kelly launched a petition last month to block the
former reality TV star from British shores, which led to the debate. The
petition accuses the 69-year-old of "hate speech" for calling for a
travel ban on Muslims entering the United States. It has received more than 574,000 signatures.
Any
petition that gets more than 100,000 signatures is considered by
Parliament's Petitions Committee, which weighs whether to send the
petition for debate by lawmakers in Parliament.
Some parliamentarians expressed support for Trump, while others slammed him.
"People
often say that the public are apathetic about politics," said member
Tulip Siddiq. "This online petition signed by nearly 600,000 people
shows that when people feel a sense of justice, when people feel that we
need to stop a poisonous, corrosive man (from) entering our country, they will act in good conscience."
She
continued, "But this is not any man we're talking about. This is a man
who is extremely high profile, involved in the American show business
industry for years and years, a man who is interviewing for the most
important job in the world. His words are not comical. His words are not
funny. His words are poisonous. They risk inflaming tension between
vulnerable communities."
Another lawmaker, Philip Davies, stood to say he thought Trump's approach was smart.
"In
the race to become the next president, he's been gaining support with a
political manner that can be described as blunt directness," Davies
said. "He is definitely straight-talking, and as a Yorkshireman I
certainly applaud him for that, too. In fact, I think in this country we
could do with rather less political correctness and much more
straight-talking across the board, and I think many of our constituents
would agree."
Members of Parliament will also debate a counter-petition that calls for Trump not to be banned from the country.
"Leave
the decision making on appropriate responses to the Americans. (Let's)
mind our own business," reads the petition, launched by David Gladwin,
which has received more than 40,000 signatures.
Cameron opposes ban
British
Home Secretary Theresa May already has the power to ban visitors who
have been convicted of a crime, jailed or are in breach of immigration
rules, and can ban visitors from outside the European Economic Area, whose presence in the UK is deemed nonconducive to the public good.
People
who have been barred previously include Quran-burning U.S. pastor Terry
Jones, a Hamas lawmaker and a former Ku Klux Klan leader.
British Prime Minister David Cameron has already said he is not in favor of any ban on Trump.
In
comments to Parliament last month, Cameron said that Trump's proposal
for a temporary ban on Muslims from entering the United States for
security was "divisive, stupid and wrong," but that a British ban on
Trump in response was unnecessary.
"If he came to visit our country, I think he would unite us all against him," he said.
Frosty response to remarks in Britain
Trump's remarks on Islam after last month's San Bernardino, California, terror attack
-- including the claim that parts of London were so radicalized that
British police feared for their lives -- struck a nerve in the UK,
drawing condemnation from a range of public figures.
London
Mayor Boris Johnson labeled them "complete and utter nonsense," adding
that "the only reason I wouldn't go to some parts of New York is the
real risk of meeting Donald Trump."
And
Scotland's Robert Gordon University stripped Trump of an honorary
degree it had bestowed on him five years ago, saying the politician had
made "a number of statements that are wholly incompatible with the ethos
and values of the university" during the presidential campaign.
The university had been pressured by another petition launched by Kelly, author of the one to ban Trump from the UK, calling on it to revoke the honorary degree.
Kelly
had previously campaigned against the development of the Trump
International Golf Links, a high-end golf resort in Aberdeen, Scotland,
which repeatedly has brought the billionaire into conflict with locals.
Last month, Britain's Supreme Court unanimously knocked back Trump's appeal against a wind farm being built overlooking the golf course, which he argued would be a blight on the coastal landscape.
Trump company: Debate 'absurd'
Trump
International Golf Links responded to the debate on banning Trump in a
statement Monday from Executive Vice President Sarah Malone, who labeled
the episode "ridiculous."
"It is
absurd that valuable parliamentary time is being wasted debating a
matter raised as part of the American presidential election," she said.
"For
the UK to consider banning someone who made a statement in America,
about American borders during a U.S. election campaign is ridiculous."
She
said that in holding the debate, the British Parliament was setting a
"dangerous precedent" and "sending a terrible message to the world."
"The
individuals who instigated this ... have a self-serving personal agenda
and do not represent the views or interests of the vast majority of
British people."
If Trump was banned, he would abandon his plans for a further £700 million ($1.1 billion) investment in Scotland, she said.
CNN.
YEMI
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