. Boris Johnson Says President’s Immigration Crackdown Is ‘Divisive And Wrong’
Donald Trump’s planned state visit to the UK later this year must be cancelled in response to his hardline immigration crackdown, Jeremy Corbyn said today.
He led the UK protests against the President’s shock executive order that prevents anyone entering the US from seven Muslim majority countries for 90 days.
Theresa May flew into a storm last night after visiting President Trump in the White House and finally condemned the ban at midnight after refusing three times to criticise his controversial move.
Now Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has hit out at President Trump, saying it was ‘divisive and wrong to stigmatise because of nationality’ while Sajid Javid, Britain’s first male Muslim Cabinet minister, said the ban contravenes British values.
Mr Johnson promised to ‘protect the rights and freedoms of UK nationals home and abroad’ after the US ban triggered travel chaos for British travellers.
Following a furious backlash in the UK – including from senior Tory MPs, No10 issued a statement at midnight saying she does ‘not agree’ with Mr Trump’s travel ban.
One of the PM’s senior MPs revealed he is now barred from the US after the US President signed an executive order preventing anyone entering the US from seven Muslim majority countries for 90 days.
Nadhim Zahawi said he felt demeaned by the ban, adding: ‘For the first time in my life last night I felt discriminated against.’
Mr Corbyn united with Lib Dem leader Tim Farron to call for President Trump’s planned state visit to the UK to be cancelled.
He said Mrs May’s failure to raise concerns over his controversial moves was ‘shocking,’ while Mr Farron said his visit would be ‘placing the Queen in an impossible position of welcoming a man who is banning British citizens purely on grounds of their faith’.
London’s Muslim Mayor Sadiq Khan said President Trump should only be invited for a state visit when he lifts his ‘shameful’ travel ban.
Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage was alone in defending the immigration crackdown and even suggested Britain should follow the President’s lead and introduce ‘extreme vetting’ of incomers.
Mr Javid, the Business Secretary, responded directly at Mr Farage, tweeting: ‘Farage is wrong to try and defend US immigration ban. These are not British values.’
The Muslim Council of Britain said the details of the executive order exposed that it was not designed to tackle terrorism but to appeal to right-wing supporters of President Trump.
‘Those countries whose citizens were found to be involved in terrorism in the United States are not on Mr Trump’s list, he said.’
More than 100,000 people have already signed a petition on the Government’s website demanding President Trump be prevented from making a state visit.
It must now be considered for a debate in the Commons. The petition says ‘he should not be invited to make an official State Visit because it would cause embarrassment to Her Majesty the Queen’.
Yesterday the PM refused three times to condemn President Trump’s immigration crackdown.
But amid a growing backlash, Downing Street hastily issued a midnight statement saying Mrs May dos ‘not agree’ with his executive order.
Her spokesperson said: ‘Immigration policy in the United States is a matter for the government of the United States, just the same as immigration policy for this country should be set by our government.’
‘But we do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking. We are studying this new executive order to see what it means and what the legal effects are, and in particular what the consequences are for UK nationals.’
During her visit to the White House Mrs May announced President Trump had accepted an invitation from the Queen to visit the UK later this year.
But Mr Corbyn said it is not right to host the US President while the ‘awful attacks on Muslims’ are going on.
He told ITV’s Peston On Sunday: ‘Is it really right to endorse somebody who has used this awful misogynistic language throughout the election campaign, awful attacks on Muslims, and then of course this absurd idea of building a wall between themselves and their nearest neighbour?’
He added: ‘I think we should make it very clear we are extremely upset about it, and I think it would be totally wrong for him to be coming here while that situation is going on. I think he has to be challenged on this.
‘I am not happy with him coming here until that ban is lifted, quite honestly.
‘Look at what’s happening with those countries, how many more is it going to be and what is going to be the long term effect of this on the rest of the world?’
Attacking Mrs May’s slow response to the executive order, Mr Corbyn said: ‘The fact that she felt unable to raise the issue of his treatment of refugees, his treatment of Muslims, of the building of the wall with Mexico seems to me shocking and it wasn’t until midnight that she got round to readjusting her position she should have adopted from the very beginning.’
He said it was ‘right to have a relationship with the US’ but said she’s ‘got to be very open with them’.
London’s Muslim Mayor Sadiq Khan described Mr Trump’s ban on incomers from seven Muslim majority countries ‘shameful’.
He wrote on his Facebook post: ‘President Trump’s ban on refugees and immigrants from certain countries is shameful and cruel.
‘The USA has a proud history of welcoming and resettling refugees. The President can’t just turn his back on this global crisis – all countries need to play their part.
‘While every country has the right to set its own immigration policies, this new policy flies in the face of the values of freedom and tolerance that the USA was built upon.’
The sudden ban has triggered chaos at airports across the world as travellers were caught out in transit.
One woman affected was Hamaseh Tayari, a UK resident with an Iranian passport, who is stranded in Costa Rica after being denied boarding a flight home to Glasgow because her return flight was due to stop-over in New York.
Ms Tayari was due to fly home to Glasgow via New York after holidaying in Costa Rica but her US transit visa was revoked as Mr Trump’s immigration crackdown took effect immediately.
She is now trying to work out an alternative route home but she said it is likely to cost her a month’s salary to get home.
‘This has really shocked me. We just discovered [what Trump did] at the airport when we went to check-in, Ms Tayari told the Guardian.
‘I want people to know that this is not just happening to refugees. I am a graduate and I have a Phd. It has happened to a person who is working and who pays tax.’