MPs And Peers Launch Bid To Stop Trump Addressing Parliament During State Visit
Donald Trump and the then Prince Charles during the president's last state visit in 2019.MPs and peers have launched a bid to stop Donald Trump from addressing parliament when he visits the UK.They say the US president’s attitude toward Britain, Nato, Ukraine and parliamentary democracy means he should not be given the honour. Trump is set to come to the UK in September after King Charles invited him for an unprecedented second state visit.Keir Starmer personally handed over the King’s invitation letter to Trump when he visited the White House in February.Barack Obama addressed both houses of parliament when he had his own state visit in 2011.But the speakers of both the Commons and the Lords are being urged to follow the example of John Bercow, who blocked Trump from addressing parliament during his first state visit in 2019.According to The Times, a message sent to Lord McFall, the Lords Speaker, by a group of peers, said: “If it is suggested that he be invited to address both houses of parliament I hope that you and [Commons Speaker] Lindsay [Hoyle] will suggest that would be inappropriate on this occasion because of his attitude towards and comments about the UK, parliamentary democracy, the Nato Alliance and Ukraine.”The message has been co-ordinated by Labour peer Lord Foulkes, who told Times Radio this morning: “He is not a respecter of democracy, he does not respect the rule of law and we feel it would be inappropriate for him to address parliament. It would be an insult if he were allowed to do so.”Foulkes also accused Trump of being an “apologist for Putin” over his attitude towards the war in Ukraine and predicted there would be a “huge boycott” by MPs and peers if he was allowed to address them.“For us to be gathered together and listen to someone talking nonsense to us would be quite an insult,” he added.In a letter to Lindsay Hoyle, Labour MP Kate Osborne said: “It is of course up to our government to decide if they use the state visit to engage with Trump on a wide range of issues as above but that does not translate to giving him the honour of addressing the UK parliament, the decision of which I believe should reside with you. The risk of low attendance could also have negative or unintended consequences.”Addressing the Commons in 2017, the then Speaker Bercow said: “I would not wish to issue an invitation to President Trump to speak.“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.”“An address by a foreign leader to both houses of Parliament is not an automatic right. It is an earned honour,” Bercow added.HuffPost UK has approached Lindsay Hoyle and Lord McFall’s offices for comment.Related...Trump Says Ukraine And Russia Could Agree Peace Deal 'This Week'Liz Truss Says Trump Is 'Right About Nearly Everything'. Here Are 7 Reasons Why She's WrongThe Art Of US Trade Deal: Does The UK Actually Have The Upper Hand With Trump Right Now?
