Prime minister says ‘UK takes a different approach’ but defends invitation despite growing outrage over US travel ban 
 
 Theresa May defended the decision to invite Donald Trump on a state visit as thousands of protesters took to the streets across the UK and more than 1.5 million people signed a petition to try to stop the trip from going ahead. 
 
 The prime minister made the briefest of responses to the domestic uproar over the US president’s attempt to ban travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries, insisting that the “UK takes a different approach”. 
 
 Thousands protest across UK in wake of US travel ban – politics live Read more 
 
 Addressing the issue during a joint press conference with the Irish taoiseach, Enda Kenny, May stood by the red carpet invitation she had made during her meeting with Trump in the White House on Friday. 
 
 “The United States is a close ally of the United Kingdom. We work together across many areas of mutual interest and we have that special relationship between us,” she said. “I have issued that invitation for a state visit for President Trump to the United Kingdom and that invitation stands.” 
 
 However, she refused to go further and criticise her American counterpart despite mass condemnation of his decision to bar nationals from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen for 90 days. At the same press conference, Kenny voiced disagreement with the executive order announced by Trump. 
 
 The comments came as Downing street advisers did not deny claims that May had been informed about Trump’s plans to impose the travel ban when she met the president. 
 
 
 
 Thousands took to the streets in cities across the UK, including Manchester, Cardiff, Glasgow, Edinburgh and in London. Crowds gathered just metres from the gates of Downing Street, chanting: “Shame on May.” 
 
 The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, wrote to the prime minister to urge her to listen to more than a million Britons who had called on her to cancel the state visit, in which Trump could address both houses of parliament. “This world defeated segregation, we defeated apartheid and we will defeat this nasty policy created to sow division and hatred,” he said. “His invite should be withdrawn until the executive orders are gone and every element of them repealed.” 
 
 Some shadow cabinet members joined protestors, including Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary. 
 
 Earlier, Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, warned MPs not to demonise Trump or compare him to Adolf Hitler in a statement on the escalating row. 
 
 Johnson told parliament that British passport holders with dual nationalities would now not be affected by the US travel ban after further conversations with senior figures within the White House. 
 
 Following confusion caused by a US embassy notice telling UK dual nationals from the affected countries not to travel to the US, he said: “I’m able to provide the following clarification: the general principle is that all British passport holders remain welcome to travel to the US. 
 
 “We have received assurances that this executive order will make no difference to any British passport holder irrespective of their country of birth or if they hold another passport.” 
 
 
 
 Johnson said he believed that the US decision to implement the so-called extreme vetting for nationals from the seven countries was “divisive, discriminatory and wrong”. 
 
 
 
 But he argued that Trump was right to say that it did not amount to a ban on Muslims. Johnson repeatedly defended the new American leader and suggested his “bark is considerably worse than his bite”. He accused Labour of “pointlessly demonising” him. 
 
 The foreign secretary said it was right that a close and important ally was welcomed to a state visit, pointing out that such an invitation was even extended to Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe and Romania’s Nicolae Ceaușescu. A number of Conservative backbenchers urged the British government not to interfere in American domestic policy, with Julian Lewis MP saying the Atlantic alliance was critical to security in the UK. 
 
 MPs from all parties took to their feet to express alarm at Trump’s executive order, with many offering repeated references to the the politics of the 1930s. 
 
 Dennis Skinner, the veteran Labour MP known for his combative outbursts on the floor of the Commons chamber, used the debate to brand Trump a fascist. “Will the foreign secretary just for a moment try to recall how I hid under the stairs as two fascist dictators – Hitler and Mussolini – rained bombs on towns and cities in Britain?” he asked. 
 
 “Now this government is hand in hand with another fascist: Trump. Do the decent thing and ban the visit. This man is not fit to walk in the footsteps of Nelson Mandela.” 
 
 Theresa May was right to see Donald Trump. But she must condemn him too | Jack Straw Read more 
 
 Mike Gapes, a Labour MP, called the prime minister “Theresa the appeaser”, sparking an angry reaction from some MPs. 
 
 Ben Howlett, a Conservative backbencher, quoted a speech by Winston Churchill about countries remaining neutral in the war, saying: “Each ones hopes that if he feeds the crocodile enough the crocodile will eat him last.” 
 
 He said: “This dangerous trend towards nationalism which we have not seen since the 1930s inflicting itself on the western world has wrongly been defined as populism. It is clear this executive order needs to be condemned.” 
 
 Johnson hit back at the comparisons, arguing that they were inappropriate. “I completely agree we must stand up against bigotry and nationalism. But I do draw the line at the comparison made relentlessly this afternoon between the elected government of our closest and most important ally, a great democracy, and the anti-democratic cruel and barbaric tyrannies of the 1930s,” he said. “Continually to use the language of appeasement demeans the horror of the 1930s and trivialises our conversation.” 
 
 The warnings about rising nationalism came amid a string of other interventions from Conservatives angry about the US policy, including a plea from the Iraqi-born MP Nadhim Zawahi, who urged Trump to reconsider as a compassionate Christian. 
 
 Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, led Labour’s response, demanding more action from the government to protect UK residents from the seven countries affected by the ban, citing examples of people stranded and held at airports. 
 
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Labour MP Yvette Cooper was shaking as she made an emotional intervention. Photograph: PA 
 
 She also pressed Johnson on Downing Street’s slow response to the order, with the government only promising to intervene on behalf of UK nationals 27 hours after it came into force. 
 
 “In their discussions about terrorism and security, was this imminent order mentioned? I don’t know what’s worse, that the president would have such little respect for the prime minister that he wouldn’t think of telling her, or that he did and she didn’t think it sounded wrong,” she said. 
 
 Yvette Cooper, who chairs parliament’s home affairs select committee, was shaking as she made an emotional intervention, saying: “One of our closest allies has chosen to ban refugees and target Muslims and all [Johnson] can say is that it wouldn’t be our policy. That is not good enough.” 
 
 She responded to reports that May was told about the travel ban during her meeting with Trump, asking why she did not condemn the policy during a later press conference in Turkey. 
 
 Johnson argued that May’s trip to the US was a success, stressing the importance of the relationship between the two countries, and saying that the government was not afraid of criticising its friend. 
 
 After many had called on the government to take a firmer line, the Speaker of the House, John Bercow, gave the green light to an emergency, three-hour debate on Trump’s executive order. 
 
 That debate culminated in the Commons unanimously passing an emergency motion from former Labour leader Ed Miliband that condemned “Trump’s discriminatory, divisive & counterproductive ban”. 
 
 A former head of the Foreign Office has said that May’s invitation to Trump had put the Queen in a “very difficult position”. Lord Ricketts, who was permanent secretary at the Foreign Office from 2006-10 before becoming David Cameron’s national security adviser, said in a letter to the Times that the offer was “premature” and it was unprecedented for a US president to be given a state visit in their first year in the White House. ||||| Image copyright AFP/Getty Image caption Thousands marched through London on 21 January to voice their opposition to President Trump 
 
 Downing Street has rejected calls to cancel President Donald Trump's proposed state visit to the UK after a US clampdown on immigration. 
 
 A source said a rejection would be a "populist gesture", adding that the invitation had been accepted and scrapping it would "undo everything". 
 
 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said PM Theresa May would be failing the people if she failed to postpone the visit. 
 
 A petition to stop it has gathered more than 900,000 signatures since Saturday. 
 
 Only 100,000 signatures are needed for Parliament to consider debating a petition. 
 
 The visit was announced during PM May's trip to the US - no date has been set but it is expected to take place later this year. 
 
 However, on Friday Mr Trump signed an executive order halting the US refugee programme for 120 days, indefinitely banning all Syrian refugees and suspending the entry of all nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries. 
 
 Moves to implement the measure have triggered anger and protest across the world. 
 
 Buckingham Palace has declined to comment on the row. 
 
 The Downing Street source told the BBC: "America is a huge important ally. We have to think long term." 
 
 But Shadow Attorney-General Shami Chakrabarti said the government's position "sounds like appeasement". 
 
 Mr Corbyn, who has urged followers to support the petition, tweeted on Sunday: "@Theresa_May would be failing the British people if she does not postpone the state visit & condemn Trump's actions in the clearest terms." 
 
 "@realDonaldTrump should not be welcomed to Britain while he abuses our shared values with shameful #MuslimBan & attacks on refugees & women," he added. 
 
 Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron backed the call. He said: "Any visit by President Trump to Britain should be on hold until his disgraceful ban comes to an end. 
 
 "Otherwise Theresa May would be placing the Queen in an impossible position of welcoming a man who is banning British citizens purely on grounds of their faith." 
 
 Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Protesters have gathered at airports across the US to demonstrate against the executive order 
 
 Alex Salmond, the SNP's foreign affairs spokesman, said he thought the state visit was "a very bad idea". 
 
 Also appearing on Sky News' Sophy Ridge, he said: "You shouldn't be rushing into a headlong relationship with the President of the United States." 
 
 Mr Salmond said reports Mr Trump was reluctant to meet Prince Charles during the visit were "an indication of the sort of enormous difficulties you get into when you hold somebody tight who is unpredictable, who has a range of views you find unacceptable." 
 
 And Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said the visit should not happen while the executive order was in place. 
 
 He told Sky News: "I am quite clear, this ban is cruel, this ban is shameful, while this ban is in place we should not be rolling out the red carpet for President Trump." 
 
 Leeds solicitor Graham Guest, who started the petition, said he wanted it to "put the spotlight" on Mr Trump. 
 
 He told the Press Association: "A state visit legitimises his presidency and he will use the photo opportunities and being seen with the Queen to get re-elected. 
 
 "The wording in the petition is quite precise as I actually say that he should come here as the head of government to do government-to-government business. 
 
 "At the end of the day he is still the president and we've just got to live with that. But there's no reason why he should get all the pomp and publicity of a state visit." 
 
 'British values first' 
 
 Former shadow cabinet member Chuka Umunna also backed the calls to cancel the trip. 
 
 "State visits happen at the instigation of governments and, of course, you have got a prime minister who you want to have a decent working relationship with a US president. 
 
 "But they need to understand, just as they will put America first, we will put British values first." 
 
 Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, said she hoped Mr Trump would reconsider his position on immigration "immediately". 
 
 "State visits are designed for both the host, and the head of state who is being hosted, to celebrate and entrench the friendships and shared values between their respective countries," she said. 
 
 "A state visit from the current president of the United States could not possibly occur in the best traditions of the enterprise while a cruel and divisive policy which discriminates against citizens of the host nation is in place." 
 
 Paddy Ashdown, former leader of the Liberal Democrats, questioned the state visit on Twitter. 
 
 He wrote: "Am I alone in finding it impossible to bear that in pursuit of her deeply wrong-headed policies our PM is now forcing THAT MAN on our Queen?" 
 
 Conservative MP for Totnes, Sarah Wollaston, earlier tweeted that the US President should not be invited to address the Houses of Parliament, saying Westminster Hall "should be reserved for leaders who have made an outstanding positive difference in the world". ||||| British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during a news conference with President Donald Trump in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Jan. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (Associated Press) 
 
 British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during a news conference with President Donald Trump in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Jan. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (Associated Press) 
 
 British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during a news conference with President Donald Trump in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Jan. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (Associated Press) British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during a news conference with President Donald Trump in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Jan. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (Associated Press) 
 
 LONDON (AP) — A state visit to Britain by President Donald Trump later this year will go ahead, the prime minister's office said Monday, despite increasing calls for it to be canceled over his temporary ban on residents of seven majority-Muslim countries entering the U.S. 
 
 Furor over the travel ban has tarnished what British officials had considered a highly successful trip to Washington by Prime Minister Theresa May. She met Trump at the White House on Friday and announced that he had been invited to come to Britain later this year as the guest of Queen Elizabeth II. 
 
 May's Downing St. office said Monday that "an invitation has been extended and accepted," and the visit is still on. 
 
 No date has been announced for the state visit, which involves lavish pomp and ceremony, generally with a stay at Buckingham Palace. 
 
 The visit was hailed by government officials as a sign of the close trans-Atlantic relationship, which was also reflected in May's invitation to meet Trump just a week after his inauguration. 
 
 But criticism of May's wooing of Trump erupted when — only hours after the prime minister had left the White House — the president signed an executive order suspending all travel to the U.S. of citizens of Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and Libya for 90 days. The order also bars all refugees entering the country for 120 days. 
 
 Britain's three biggest opposition parties have all called for Trump's state visit to be canceled and an online petition opposing the trip has more than 1 million signatures. Protests against the travel ban are planned Monday in London and other British cities. 
 
 Any petition with more than 100,000 signatures must be considered for a debate in Parliament, though not a binding vote. 
 
 Last year, Parliament debated whether to ban Trump, then a presidential candidate, from visiting Britain after a similar online petition was filed. 
 
 Trump's travel ban sparked protests at airports across the U.S., along with expressions of condemnation and concern from around the world. 
 
 There was widespread confusion about whether the ban applied to dual nationals. Somali-born British Olympic champion runner Mo Farah said he feared it would prevent him returning to the U.S., where he lives. 
 
 Late Sunday, Britain's Foreign Office said U.S. authorities had clarified that the ban didn't apply to British citizens who are also nationals of one of the seven countries. Canada's foreign minister said he had been told the same about Canadian dual nationals. 
 
 However, the website of the U.S. Embassy in London advised nationals of the seven countries — "including dual nationals" — not to book visa appointments, saying their applications would not be processed. 
 
 The U.S. Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 
 
 The British exemption didn't end the storm of opposition, with prominent members of May's Conservative Party joining in calls for Trump's visit to be scrapped. 
 
 Sayeeda Warsi, a former government minister and Conservative member of the House of Lords, said it was "sending out a wrong signal" to invite Trump, a leaders whose values "are not the same as British values." 
 
 Conservative lawmaker Sarah Wollaston said Trump should not be invited to address both houses of Parliament, an honor given to many visiting foreign leaders. 
 
 She said that "those who wish to fawn over him" should do so elsewhere. 
 
 Former U.K. Independence Party leader Nigel Farage, a Trump ally, said "British politicians are sheer hypocrites" to oppose the travel ban as they had not objected when President Barack Obama imposed what Farage called a six-month ban on Iraqis. 
 
 In 2011 the U.S. imposed stringent checks on Iraqi refugees after two Iraqis were charged with terrorism offenses in Kentucky. It did not ban all travelers from Iraq, however.
– A state visit to Britain by President Trump later this year will go ahead, the prime minister's office said Monday, despite increasing calls for it to be canceled over his temporary ban on residents of seven majority-Muslim countries from traveling to the US, the AP reports. Furor over the travel ban has tarnished what British officials had considered a highly successful trip to Washington by Prime Minister Theresa May. She met Trump at the White House on Friday and announced he'd been invited to come to Britain later this year as Queen Elizabeth II's guest. Only hours after she'd left the White House, the president signed his executive order. May's Downing St. office said Monday "an invitation has been extended and accepted," and the visit is still on. No date has been announced for the state visit, which involves lavish pomp and ceremony, generally with a stay at Buckingham Palace. Britain's three biggest opposition parties have called for the visit's cancellation, and an online petition opposing it currently has 1.3 million signatures. Per the Telegraph, it's now the second-most popular petition on the government's website, behind the 4 million people asking for a 2nd EU referendum. The petition argues "Trump should be allowed to enter the UK in his capacity as head of the US Government, but he should not be invited to make an official State Visit because it would cause embarrassment to Her Majesty the Queen." Any petition with more than 100,000 signatures must be considered for a debate in Parliament, though not a binding vote. Protests against the ban are planned Monday in London.