Thousands of protesters rallied outside UK Parliament today as MPs debated a petition to cancel a state visit by US President Donald Trump which gained more than 1(point)8 million signatures. Placards were held by demonstrators in Parliament Square, in the latest rally against the US President who came to power a month ago.<br/><br/>British Prime Minister Theresa May became the first foreign leader to meet Trump in the White House in January, when she invited him to the UK on a state visit to be hosted by Queen Elizabeth II later this year. The invitation came hours ahead of Trump imposing tough entry restrictions on travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries.<br/><br/>The British government has said that the invitation still stands, but parliament went ahead and debated the issue due to the popularity of the petition. Lawmakers also discussed a counter-petition to uphold the state visit invite, which attracted over 300,000 signatures. <br/><br/>During the debate, opposition Labour MP David Lammy said the government offered the state visit because it is desperate for a trade deal with the US. Fellow Labour lawmaker Paul Flynn said, the invitation should be downgraded from the regal affair to a regular visit.

Thousands of protesters rallied outside UK Parliament today as MPs debated a petition to cancel a state visit by US President Donald Trump which gained more than 1(point)8 million signatures. Placards were held by demonstrators in Parliament Square, in the latest rally against the US President who came to power a month ago.<br/><br/>British Prime Minister Theresa May became the first foreign leader to meet Trump in the White House in January, when she invited him to the UK on a state visit to be hosted by Queen Elizabeth II later this year. The invitation came hours ahead of Trump imposing tough entry restrictions on travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries.<br/><br/>The British government has said that the invitation still stands, but parliament went ahead and debated the issue due to the popularity of the petition. Lawmakers also discussed a counter-petition to uphold the state visit invite, which attracted over 300,000 signatures. <br/><br/>During the debate, opposition Labour MP David Lammy said the government offered the state visit because it is desperate for a trade deal with the US. Fellow Labour lawmaker Paul Flynn said, the invitation should be downgraded from the regal affair to a regular visit.