London (CNN) A petition calling for Donald Trump to be banned from entering the UK has attracted more than a quarter of a million signatures -- more than enough for a committee to consider sending the motion for parliamentary debate. 
 
 The petition to block the front-running Republican presidential candidate from entering the country was created on the British government's official petitions website in response to Trump's call Monday to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. due to the threat of terrorism. 
 
 "The UK has banned entry to many individuals for hate speech. The same principles should apply to everyone who wishes to enter the UK," read the petition, which was created by Suzanne Kelly, a woman from Aberdeen, Scotland, who has previously campaigned against Trump's political and business activities. 
 
 "If the United Kingdom is to continue applying the 'unacceptable behavior' criteria to those who wish to enter its borders, it must be fairly applied to the rich as well as poor, and the weak as well as powerful," the petition stated. 
 
 300,000 and counting 
 
 By Wednesday evening, the petition had gained more than 300,000 signatures, with the number climbing rapidly. 
 
 Any petition that gets more than 100,000 signatures is considered by Parliament's Petitions Committee, which weighs whether to send the petition for debate by lawmakers in Parliament. 
 
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 The committee will consider what to do with the petition on January 5, according to the House of Commons information office. 
 
 The Home Office told CNN that the home secretary has the power to exclude individuals, but there is currently no suggestion that this would be the case with Trump. 
 
 'Hate speech' 
 
 Kelly, who writes for a citizen journalist website, Aberdeen Voice, has previously written reports documenting issues with Trump's development of a high-end golf resort in Aberdeen , which saw him come into conflict with locals. 
 
 She had earlier started a petition asking Aberdeen's Robert Gordon University to strip Trump of an honorary degree it bestowed on him five years ago. 
 
 That petition, which attracted more than 38,000 signatures, argues that Trump's "unrepentant, persistent verbal attacks on various groups of people based on nationality, religion, race and physical abilities are a huge detriment" to the university. 
 
 Kelly wrote on the Aberdeen Voice website that her latest petition, to ban Trump from the UK, would allow British residents "who want to stand up against hate speech ... the opportunity to do so." 
 
 "We are looking at a US Presidential candidate who wants to institute policies which to me are fascism," she wrote. "People have been barred from the United Kingdom for less." 
 
 Brits peeved 
 
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 His followup remarks a day later -- that parts of London were so radicalized that British police feared for their lives -- particularly rankled in the UK. 
 
 British Prime Minister David Cameron , who doesn't usually comment on U.S. presidential candidates, said through a spokesman that Trump's comments were "divisive, unhelpful and quite simply wrong." 
 
 London's Metropolitan Police issued a statement inviting the Republican candidate to a briefing "on the reality of policing London," while the remarks also drew a sharp response from London Mayor Boris Johnson 
 
 "Donald Trump's ill-informed comments are complete and utter nonsense," Johnson said. "The only reason I wouldn't go to some parts of New York is the real risk of meeting Donald Trump." 
 
 But his comments may also have found some sympathizers in a country wary of the ISIS threat. Another petition on the UK government website calls on British leaders to "stop all immigration and close the UK borders until ISIS is defeated." 
 
 That petition, which cited ISIS threats to send jihadists to Europe among refugees, has gathered more than 440,000 signatures since it was launched in September, but was rejected by the British government. 
 
 "The UK government has no intention of closing Britain's borders, as this would create more problems than it would solve," the British Home Office wrote in rejecting the proposal. ||||| With thanks to Suzanne Kelly. 
 
 A petition demanding Donald Trump be banned from the United Kingdom has been approved and launched today. Should it attract the required number of signatures, it will be discussed in the House of Commons. 
 
 The launching of the petition follows closely another petition initiated by the same author demanding that Aberdeen’s Robert Gordon University strips Trump of the honorary degree it bestowed on him in 2010, which has already gathered nearly 9000 signatures. 
 
 The latest petition, raised in response to a recent series of distasteful, divisive comments made by Donald Trump as part of his US Presidential campaign, reads: 
 
 “The signatories believe Donald J Trump should be banned from UK entry. The UK has banned entry to many individuals for hate speech. The same principles should apply to everyone who wishes to enter the UK. If the United Kingdom is to continue applying the ‘unacceptable behaviour’ criteria to those who wish to enter its borders, it must be fairly applied to the rich as well as poor, and the weak as well as powerful.” 
 
 The petition can be found here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/114003/signatures/new 
 
 Suzanne Kelly, petition author, said: 
 
 “The petition will allow all UK residents who want to stand up against hate speech and Donald Trump’s hate speech specifically the opportunity to do so. Trump persists with comments which I feel denigrating races, nationalities, women, religious groups. I would term this hate speech, and to my mind he becomes more outlandish and unacceptable as each day passes. I am not alone in feeling this way by a long shot. 
 
 “We are looking at a US Presidential candidate who wants to institute policies which to me are fascism. People have been barred from the United Kingdom for less.” 
 
 There is also a petition by Kelly on 38 Degrees asking Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen to strip Trump of an honorary degree it bestowed on him five years ago. Kelly will shortly contact the university; a protest has been suggested as the next step. 
 
 Kelly said: 
 
 “If this university adheres to its own principles of inclusiveness, then allowing the degree to stand is an insult to those who worked hard and earned degrees. We need to be celebrating diversity and increase our tolerance of other people and cultures; Trump is the antithesis to me of where we should be heading.” 
 
 Suzanne Kelly has been following Donald Trump’s exploits from the Menie Estate Golf Development to recent gaffes and today’s shocking suggestion Muslims be barred from entering the United States. She has written articles and reports on Donald Trump for Aberdeen Voice, a free, online newspaper serving Aberdeen and the North East of Scotland. 
 
 She also contributed to the BBC’s Panorama programme on Trump, and some of her work has been used by journalist Anthony Baxter in his film A Dangerous Game, which followed his award-winning film on Trump’s presence at Menie, ‘You’ve Been Trumped’. ||||| The United Kingdom Parliament will debate banning GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump from the country later this month. 
 
 Ministers will consider whether or not to prohibit Trump from entering the country Jan. 18 after a petition to Parliament calling for a ban gained more than half a million signatures. “The UK has banned entry to many individuals for hate speech,” the petition reads. “If the United Kingdom is to continue applying the ‘unacceptable behaviour’ criteria to those who wish to enter its borders, it must be fairly applied to the rich as well as poor, and the weak as well as powerful.” 
 
 Suzanne Kelly, the freelance journalist who began the petition, welcomed the news. “However the debate goes, this exercise has brought many people together to speak out against hate speech and prejudice,” she said in a statement. “That is my reward, and one I’m very happy and moved by.” 
 
 Read more: Why I Am Campaigning to Ban Donald Trump From the U.K. 
 
 Trump has courted controversy by calling for a ban on Muslims entering the United States and promising to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border to keep illegal immigrants out of the country. The proposals have been derided by critics in the U.K., including Prime Minister David Cameron. 
 
 The British government noted in a response to the petition that it may exclude a non-European person from the country if their presence is considered “non-conducive to the public good.” Other prominent Americans to have been banned from the U.K. include anti-Islam campaigner Pamela Geller and conservative radio host Michael Savage. However, Cameron has said in the past he doesn’t believe Trump should be banned from the country. 
 
 [BuzzFeed] ||||| The ‘hate speech’ of Donald Trump may mean the floppy-haired billionaire is banned from coming to the UK (Picture: Noam Galai/WireImage) 
 
 Tens of thousands of Britons have signed a petition calling for Donald Trump to be banned from entering the United Kingdom. 
 
 But could such a plan even work? 
 
 The Republican’s comments about Muslims have caused a great deal of controversy and the White House has distanced itself from him as a Presidential candidate. 
 
 Now a petition is asking Theresa May to ban the would-be politician from setting foot on British soil. 
 
 ‘The UK has banned entry to many individuals for hate speech,’ the petition reads. 
 
 ‘This same principle should apply to Donald J Trump. We cannot see how the United Kingdom can condone his entry to the country when many people have been barred for less.’ 
 
 The number of people signing is rising very quickly. Here was the figure at 10.15am today: 
 
 And a couple of hours later: 
 
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 Long-time critic of Trump Suzanne Kelly, who launched the petition, says the real estate mogul’s rhetoric ‘foments racial, religious and nationalistic intolerance which should not be welcome in the UK.’ 
 
 Blocking someone from entering the UK on those grounds is not so far-fetched. Earlier this year, rapper Tyler the Creator was barred from entering the UK for his tour due to some of his lyrics and anti-Islam activist Pamela Geller was also banned in 2013. 
 
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 Donald Trump may have a lot of supporters in the US but he’ll have a hard time making pals here (Picture: Tom Pennington/Getty Images) 
 
 Of course, banning someone with the profile and support of Donald Trump is another kettle of fish, but that hasn’t stopped Britain’s most high-profile politicians roundly condemning his proposed ban on Muslims entering the US. 
 
 David Cameron’s spokesman said the PM believed Trump’s comments were ‘divisive, unhelpful and quite simply wrong’, while Jeremy Corbyn branded them an ‘affront to common humanity.’ Nicola Sturgeon labelled them ‘obnoxious… offensive’ and Lib Dem leader Tim Farron said it illustrated why Trump was ‘utterly unsuited’ for the role of President. 
 
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 A spokesman for Mrs May said: ‘The Home Secretary will seek to exclude an individual if she considers that his or her presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good. 
 
 ‘We condemn all those whose behaviours and views run counter to our shared values and will not stand for extremism in any form.’ 
 
 Some 30,000 Brits have signed the petition. If it hits 100,000, it could be taken up for debate in the Commons, The Independent reports. 
 
 MSNBC reports that the petition is being reviewed by Parliament’s petitions committee. 
 
 We’re pretty sure Boris Johnson will be signing this petition as soon as he gets wind of it. 
 
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– First it was a couple of US mayors, now it's the entire United Kingdom: Scottish activist Suzanne Kelly created a request on the British government's petitions website demanding that Donald Trump be denied entry to the UK, CNN reports, and the document has already received more than 236,000 signatures—far surpassing the 100,000 needed to get Parliament to consider the issue for debate. "The UK has banned entry to many individuals for hate speech," the petition reads. "The same principles should apply to everyone who wishes to enter the UK. If the United Kingdom is to continue applying the 'unacceptable behaviour' criteria to those who wish to enter its borders, it must be fairly applied to the rich as well as poor, and the [powerful] as well as [weak]." This Scottish David has taken on the American Goliath before. Kelly, a citizen journalist for the Aberdeen Voice, gave Trump a hard time when he was building his Aberdeen golf course a few years back; she's also tried to get the real estate mogul stripped of an honorary degree at a local university, CNN notes. "The petition will allow all UK residents who want to stand up against … Donald Trump's hate speech specifically the opportunity to do so," Kelly tells the Voice. "People have been barred from the United Kingdom for less." The Metro backs up that claim, citing the banning of both rapper Tyler the Creator and anti-Islam activist Pamela Geller. Meanwhile, a counter-petition entitled "Don't Ban Trump From the United Kingdom" has emerged, calling Kelly's arguments "illogical"—but that petition had just over 1,600 signatures as of this writing. The House of Commons tells CNN a committee will decide Jan. 5 how to handle Kelly's petition.