UK: MPs urge calling off Trump's upcoming visit

By Muhammad Mussa

LONDON (AA) - Parliamentarians on Tuesday called on the government to ban U.S. President Donald Trump from visiting the U.K. next month following his controversial policy of separating and detaining children of immigrants crossing into the U.S.

During a question and answer session in the House of Commons, MPs grilled Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on why the government was pressing ahead with Trump’s visit to the country.

“United Nation’s human rights experts say that Trump’s policy of detaining children may amount to torture,” said MP Chris Stephens.

"So given that, does the secretary of state believe that President Trump’s visit to the U.K. should go ahead?" he added.

Johnson said: “As the honourable gentleman knows, the President has now repealed the policy...I think it's still common ground across this House that it is important to welcome the head of state and government of our most important ally.”

Last week, Trump signed an executive order ending the policy of separating children from their parents at the US-Mexico border, following days of outrage from the public and politicians about the policy.

“The foreign secretary should cancel this visit,” MP Drew Hendry, deplored, calling out Johnson as a “self confessed admirer of Donald Trump”.

“Will he actually finally condemn the process of taking children away from their parents and putting them in cages, the language we’ve heard so far does not condemn this action?” he asked.

Johnson responded: “I think the prime minister condemned it and she speaks for the government and indeed for me and no sooner had she spoken than the President of the United States repealed the policy.”

“These children are still being kept in cages, this is a major issue,” MP Neil Gray said.

“How can he sit there and agree that this visit should still go ahead next week?” Gray asked.

“Mr. Speaker, because the president of the United States is the head of state of our most important and one of our oldest allies,” Johnson replied.

“And I think it is absolutely vital and I think it is common ground amongst many people in this country that we should extend the hand of friendship to the office of the President of the United States of America,” he added.

Trump is scheduled to visit the U.K. on July 13. There has been a wide and broad opposition to his planned visit with many calling for the government to cancel the visit.