British lawmakers debate Donald Trump

Donald Trump might not be popular among lawmakers in Britain's Parliament, but he'll be allowed to enter the UK regardless. Only interior minister Theresa May can issue an order banning entry to the country.

The debate was held after 574,000 people signed a "Ban Trump" petition which stated that the UK "has banned entry to many individuals for hate speech" and argued that the rules should be "fairly applied to the rich as well as poor."

A three-hour debate in a crowded Westminster Hall committee room involved parliamentarians from all the major parties on Monday. It ended without a vote.

Still, British politicians made it clear they didn't condone Trump's controversial views, especially his promise to ban Muslims from entering the US or his suggestion that the majority of Mexican immigrants are rapists and drug dealers.

British lawmakers weigh in

"I want to see Donald Trump come to this country...I want him to get a sense of the fury and the frustration with his xenophobic remarks," said Gary Robinson, a member of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party.

"While I think this man is crazy, while I think this man has no valid points to make, I will not be the one to silence his voice," said conservative politician Tom Tugendhat.

Labour Party leader Paul Flynn said, meanwhile, that he didn't want to give Trump the "halo of victimhood," and that the politician had already received "far too much attention."

Prime Minister David Cameron himself said he was opposed to barring Trump from the country, even though he believed the politician's comments about Muslims were "divisive, stupid and wrong."

blc/jm (AP, AFP)