The story appears on

Page A12

December 10, 2015

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

Related News

HomeWorld

Ban Trump UK petition tops 150,000

More than 150,000 Britons have signed an online petition to ban US Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump from the country following his proposal to stop Muslims from entering the United States.

Trump, who owns two golf courses in Scotland which he visited earlier this year, called for a complete shutdown of Muslims entering the US 鈥渦ntil our country鈥檚 representatives can figure out what is going on.鈥 His comments followed last week鈥檚 deadly shooting spree by two Muslims in California.

The number of signatories to the petition was growing fast but Britain鈥檚 finance minister George Osborne said yesterday that Trump should not be banned from the country.

In the past, people have been banned from entering Britain for fostering hatred that might provoke violence.

The petition says: 鈥淚f the United Kingdom is to continue applying the 鈥榰nacceptable behaviour鈥檚 criteria to those who wish to enter its borders, it must be fairly applied to the rich as well as poor, and the weak as well as the powerful.鈥

It was launched by Suzanne Kelly, a Scottish-based campaigner and longtime critic of Trump鈥檚 latest golf course in Aberdeenshire.

The government responds to all petitions that gain over 10,000 signatures, and topics are considered for parliamentary debate if they reach 100,000.

Prime Minister David Cameron said through his spokeswoman on Tuesday that Trump鈥檚 comments were 鈥渄ivisive, unhelpful and quite simply wrong.鈥

But Osborne went further yesterday when he stood in for Cameron at the weekly Prime Minister鈥檚 Questions session in parliament. 鈥淔rankly, Donald Trump鈥檚 comments fly in the face of the founding principles of the US,鈥 he said, adding that they should be confronted through robust democratic argument.

鈥淭hat is the best way to deal with Donald Trump and his views rather than trying to ban presidential candidates.鈥

In defending his proposal, Trump said the US needed to be vigilant because parts of London and Paris were so radicalized they could no longer be policed by officers, who feared for their lives.


 

Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

娌叕缃戝畨澶 31010602000204鍙

Email this to your friend