Rabat – London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, has added his to a growing list of dissenting voices, calling for the invitation to the UK for a State Visit to be rescinded, according to the Huffington Post.
Parliament will begin an official debate over the issue on Monday, after a petition demanding the cancellation of the official visit obtained nearly two million signatures. A petition in Britain only requires 100,000 signatories to trigger a parliamentary debate.
The petition began following Trump’s executive order authorized a travel ban against several predominantly Muslim countries. It states that “He [Trump] should not be invited to make an official State Visit because it would cause embarrassment to Her Majesty the Queen.” The petition goes on to cite Trump’s “well documented misogyny and vulgarity.”
London mayor, Sadiq Khan, has now thrown his very public support behind the petition, saying that Trump’s visit should be cancelled because of his travel “ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries.” He is also citing the US President’s completed blockage of refugees from any country. “In these circumstances, we shouldn’t be rolling out the red carpet,” he added.
According to the same source, a usual state visit to the UK, hosted by the Queen, involves a great deal of costly pomp and ceremony, including a banquet at Buckingham Palace where the guest of honour is feted. Of the twelve US presidents who have sat during Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, only two have been afforded an invitation to such an event; George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
As for the British Government’s official stance on the invitation, for now they are saying publicly “HM government believes 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 finalized.”
