Story highlights
UK petition created in response to Trump's call to ban Muslims from entering the U.S.
Any petition that gets more than 100,000 signatures is considered for parliamentary debate
A petition calling for Donald Trump to be banned from entering the UK has attracted more than a quarter of a million signatures – more than enough for a committee to consider sending the motion for parliamentary debate.
The petition to block the front-running Republican presidential candidate from entering the country was created on the British government’s official petitions website in response to Trump’s call Monday to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. due to the threat of terrorism.
“The UK has banned entry to many individuals for hate speech. The same principles should apply to everyone who wishes to enter the UK,” read the petition, which was created by Suzanne Kelly, a woman from Aberdeen, Scotland, who has previously campaigned against Trump’s political and business activities.
“If the United Kingdom is to continue applying the ‘unacceptable behavior’ 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 powerful,” the petition stated.
300,000 and counting
By Wednesday evening, the petition had gained more than 300,000 signatures, with the number climbing rapidly.
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.
The committee will consider what to do with the petition on January 5, according to the House of Commons information office.
The Home Office told CNN that the home secretary has the power to exclude individuals, but there is currently no suggestion that this would be the case with Trump.
’Hate speech’
Kelly, who writes for a citizen journalist website, Aberdeen Voice, has previously written reports documenting issues with Trump’s development of a high-end golf resort in Aberdeen, which saw him come into conflict with locals.
She had earlier started a petition asking Aberdeen’s Robert Gordon University to strip Trump of an honorary degree it bestowed on him five years ago.
That petition, which attracted more than 38,000 signatures, argues that Trump’s “unrepentant, persistent verbal attacks on various groups of people based on nationality, religion, race and physical abilities are a huge detriment” to the university.
Kelly wrote on the Aberdeen Voice website that her latest petition, to ban Trump from the UK, would allow British residents “who want to stand up against hate speech … the opportunity to do so.”
“We are l