A BRADFORD MP has said allowing Donald Trump a state visit to the UK endorses his views on issues she has previously campaigned against.

But MPs were told by Foreign Office Minister Sir Alan Duncan that the American President's state visit to the UK "should happen and will happen" despite angry protests against it.

MPs branded the new US president a "petulant child" and hit out at Britain's "fawning subservience" in extending the invite to roll out the red carpet for President Trump after he had been in the White House for just a week.

Bradford West MP Naz Shah (Labour) said the "red carpet" should not be rolled out for Mr Trump.

As politicians debated a petition last night, signed by more than 1.8 million people, to downgrade visit from the full fanfare of a state occasion, thousands of anti-Trump protesters demonstrated outside the Houses of Parliament.

But despite the warnings of the "Greek chorus" of protesters drifting across Westminster, Sir Alan insisted the visit will go ahead.

He told MPs in the Westminster Hall debate: "This is a special moment for the special relationship. The visit should happen, the visit will happen and when it does I trust the United Kingdom will extend a polite and generous welcome to president Donald Trump."

The decision to extend the invite was condemned by a number of MPs, with many warning that it will be seen by the world as a tacit endorsement of Mr Trump and his policies, including his controversial travel ban.

But Sir Alan said that while state visits - where the guest is hosted by the Queen and afforded the pomp and ceremony attached - are "rare and prestigious" occasions, they are also Britain's "most important diplomatic tool".

He said: "They enable us to strengthen and influence those international relationships that are of the greatest strategic importance to this country, and even more widely, to other parts of the world as well."

Sir Alan said Britain's special relationship with the US is a "central stabilising pillar" in an increasingly dangerous and unstable world.

A state visit matters so much "because, put simply, diplomacy matters"

and that the Government decided to use this tool early on in Mr Trump's presidency "to maximise the diplomatic significance of a state visit", he added.

Sir Alan said: "This engagement places our national interest at the heart of our Government's decision-making. And the special relationship is an essential part of that national interest.

"It's a relationship which transcends political parties on both sides of the Atlantic and it is bigger than individual personalities - it is about the security and the prosperity of our two nations."

The timing and content of the visit have yet to be agreed, MPs heard.

And there have been no discussions with Washington about the president addressing both Houses of Parliament - an honour previously bestowed upon just a handful of people, including Nelson Mandela.

Comment on the issue "has run ahead of itself" and this would be an issue solely for the relevant parliamentary authorities, the minister added.

Veteran Labour MP Paul Flynn (Newport West) said the Government must listen to the "Greek chorus of disapproval" of the protesters outside and re-examine its decision.

He likened the president's behaviour to a "petulant child" and urged ministers to avoid making the mistakes of the past when "very unsavoury characters" were invited on state visits.

He said: "There are great dangers in attempts to give him the best accolade we can offer anyone - only been offered twice before - of a state visit.

"This would be terribly wrong because it would appear that the British Parliament, the British nation, the British sovereign, is approving of the acts of Donald J Trump."

SNP MP Alex Salmond also hit out at the visit.

He said: "As an example of fawning subservience...the Prime Minister's holding hands across the ocean visit would be difficult to match.

"To do it in the name of shared values was stomach churning.

"What exactly are the shared values that this House, this country, would hope to have with President Trump?"

Labour MP Ms Shah said: "By allowing Donald Trump a state visit and bringing out the crockery, the china, the red carpet, what we are doing is endorsing all those views, all those things that I fought hard against, and saying 'you know what, it's okay'."

But several Conservative MPs warned that Britain and the Queen would be made to look foolish if the invite was suddenly rescinded.

Conservative James Cartlidge (South Suffolk) said there would be "smiles all round in the Kremlin" if the UK withdrew its offer of a state visit to Mr Trump.

While fellow Conservative Sir Simon Burns (Chelmsford) said it is a "no brainer" the invite should be kept as a post-Brexit Britain will need to keep America close.

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