The Member of Parliament for Bethnal Green and Bow, Rushanara Ali has called on the Government to rescind the offer of a State Visit to American President Donald Trump. Following the President’s Executive Order for a travel ban from seven-majority Muslim countries and a litany of misogynistic and racist comments, Rushanara called on the Prime Minster to protect the reputation of the Queen and offer the President a government-to-government visit rather than a State Visit.

Members of Parliament had the opportunity to speak in a Westminster Hall debate regarding a Petition signed by nearly two million people that demanded that the offer of a State Visit be withdrawn due to the embarrassment it would cause to the Queen. With 11,476 residents from Bethnal Green and Bow signing the petition, Rushanara who attended the debate said:

“Given President Trump’s remarks on torture, his misogynistic stance against women, as well those against Muslims, associating with him in the form of a State Visit will do a huge amount of damage to our Queen. The monarchy is respected around the world and the government should have a government-to-government visit with Donald Trump and leave Her Majesty out of this.”

After the debate, Rushanara addressed a large demonstration against the State visit gathered in Parliament Square.

Rushanara said:  

“Donald Trump’s rhetoric and policies are deeply, deeply worrying for not only our country, but also for all those who care about the rights of minorities, rights of women and all those threatened by his values. That’s why we will continue to fight against this State Visit.”

Following the demonstrations she said:

“Rescinding the offer of a State Visit is not an attempt to boycott President Trump’s visit. It is always better to have dialogue between countries, but given President Trump’s comments, a government-to-government visit would be much more appropriate for this American President’s trip to the United Kingdom.”