Labour MPs have warned Keir Starmer he will be hit with an explosive revolt if he requests Donald Trump to address parliament during his state visit.
The prime minister has been warned by his backbenchers that it will be “completely inappropriate” if he suggests the American president should speak in Westminster Hall when he visits Britain as early as September. Others are urging the government to reverse the decision to grant him a historic second state visit after a wave of controversial decisions, according to The i.
A foreign leader can only be invited to speak in Westminster Hall if the Commons Speaker, the Lord Speaker, and the Lord Great Chamberlain all give their approval following a request from the government. In 2017, Trump was barred from making a speech in the Palace of Westminster by then speaker John Bercow.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has already urged the PM to let Trump speak to parliamentarians, which has been an honour given to only three previous US presidents – most recently Barack Obama.
It comes after Labour MP Kate Osborne wrote a letter to the Commons speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, saying that such an invitation would be “inappropriate”
As per The Times, she wrote: “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.”
Another Labour MP said: “Parliament has nothing to learn from a serial liar, cheat, womaniser and bankrupt. We don’t need Trump to lecture and dictate his unilateral terms to our elected representatives.
“If Trump’s serious about engaging with the UK in good faith, he should start by removing his foolish tariffs which will only punish both US and UK consumers.”
Rachael Maskell MP added: “It would be completely inappropriate for the US President to address the Houses of Parliament.”
Former Labour minister Lord Foulkes yesterday called Trump an “apologist” for Vladimir Putin and said that the US president’s speeches are “gobbledegook”.
He told Times Radio: “[Trump’s speeches] are nonsense and for us to be gathered together to listen to someone coming over and talking nonsense to us would really be quite an insult.
“We need to make it absolutely clear that an invitation to address the two houses of Westminster is an important invitation and one that we think about very carefully. And I suspect that if he was to be invited there would be a huge boycott by most MPs and members of the House of Lords.”
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