Trump should not address UK parliament: Speaker

The Speaker of Britain's House of Commons said on Monday he was "strongly opposed" to allowing Donald Trump to address members of parliament during the US president's state visit later this year.

John Bercow said such a speech is "not an automatic right, it is an earned honour" - and one he would object to following Trump's ban on refugees and travellers from seven mainly Muslim countries.

"Before the imposition of the migrant ban I would myself have been strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall," said Bercow, one of three officials who would have to approve the move.

"After the imposition of the migrant ban by President Trump, I am even more strongly opposed."

"We value our relationship with the United States. If a state visit takes place, that is way beyond and above the pay grade of the Speaker.

"However, as far as this place is concerned, I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and to sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons."

Prime Minister Theresa May has come under intense pressure for inviting Trump to make a state visit, which she extended while at the White House just hours before the US president announced his travel ban.

'I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and to sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons'

- John Bercow

Trump's executive order has prompted worldwide protests, including by thousands of demonstrators in London.

The temporary immigration ban faces a legal battle on Monday that could determine whether Trump can push through the most controversial and far reaching policy of his first two weeks in office.

More than 1.8 million people have signed a public petition calling on ministers to cancel the visit, which MPs are due to debate later this month.

“Donald Trump's well-documented misogyny and vulgarity disqualifies him from being received by Her Majesty the Queen or the Prince of Wales," read the petition.

"Therefore during the term of his presidency Donald Trump should not be invited to the United Kingdom for an official State Visit."

MPs sign motion against Trump

The petition was launched in late January, and is gaining signatures at a rate of hundreds per minute.

Every petition that garners more than 100,000 signatures must be considered for a parliamentary debate.

The date and details of the state visit are still being worked out, and a spokeswoman for the speaker's office said the government had not made any request for Trump to address parliament.

In 2011, Trump's predecessor Barack Obama became the first US president to address both houses of parliament in Westminster Hall, the oldest building in the parliamentary palace, which has also hosted South Africa's Nelson Mandela and France's Charles de Gaulle.

Some 163 MPs have signed a parliamentary motion opposing an address by Trump, citing the travel ban and his comments on torture and women.

Bercow's statement sparked cheers and clapping from the opposition benches.

Earlier, May told MPs that at a summit last week, she had urged her fellow European leaders to "engage patiently and constructively" with the new US administration.

Trump's criticism of the NATO military alliance and his prediction that the EU could fall apart following Britain's vote to leave has caused alarm in many European capitals.