Hugely popular petition to ban Donald Trump from the UK passes 500,000 mark

The call became the most-signed Government petition ever on Thursday night but still continues to grow
Controversy: Trump has claimed parts of London are so “radicalised” police fear for their lives
Randall Hill/Reuters
Sebastian Mann11 December 2015

The recordbreaking petition to ban US presidential hopeful Donald Trump from the UK has now been ticked over the half-a-million signature mark.

On Thursday night the call became the most-signed ever on the Government’s website, but on Friday morning it was continuing to grow and passed the major milestone.

The petition was set up almost two weeks but soared in recent days following calls by the property tycoon and reality TV star for Muslims to be barred from entering the US.

Earlier this week he also claimed parts of London were so “radicalised” police feared for their lives.

At its peak, the petition was lengthening by more than seven signatures a second and users experienced difficulties accessing the page due to higher than usual traffic.

The previous top spot was held by a petition earlier this year calling for the UK to accept more asylum seekers and increase refugee support, which was signed 446,924 times.

Prime Minister David Cameron said Mr Trump's comments were "divisive, unhelpful and quite simply wrong", while London mayor Boris Johnson said they rendered him "unfit to hold the office of the president of the United States".

The businessman, who owns two golf courses in Scotland - Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire and Trump Turnberry in South Ayrshire - has been stripped of an honorary degree from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen and had his membership of the GlobalScot business network removed.

But he received support from TV personality and MailOnline columnist Katie Hopkins, who urged the public not to demonise him.

Hopkins, who told Fox News Mr Trump had support from a quarter of the population of the UK, tweeted: "It's because Trump & I articulate sentiments repressed by the politically correct consensus that we have a voice."

Additional reporting by PA

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