- Jeremy Corbyn rejects invite to state banquet with Donald Trump set to be hosted by the Queen.
- The Labour Party leader said that President Trump’s "racist and misogynistic" views means he should not be honoured with a state visit to the United Kingdom.
- Corbyn joins a growing list of UK politicians who have turned down the invitation.
- Trump is due to visit the UK between the 3rd and 5th June, 2019.
LONDON — Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has turned down an invitation from the Queen to attend a state banquet in Buckingham Palace with US President Donald Trump.
In a statement published on Friday, Corbyn said that Prime Minister Theresa May should not be "rolling out the red carpet" for a president who expresses "racist and misogynistic" views.
"Theresa May should not be rolling out the red carpet for a state visit to honour a President who rips up vital international treaties, backs climate change denial and uses racist and misogynist rhetoric," Corbyn said.
"Maintaining an important relationship with the United States does not require the pomp and ceremony of a State Visit. It is disappointing that the Prime Minister has again opted to kowtow to this US administration."
However, Corbyn added that he would "welcome" a meeting with Trump at another time "to discuss all matters of interest."
Corbyn is the latest UK politician to reject the invitation for the event, set to be hosted by the Queen in June, after it was rejected by the Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable and the House of Commons speaker John Bercow.
Cable said that the UK "should not be beguiled by pomp and circumstance into hobnobbing with a man who is on record as a misogynist and a racist."
Bercow did not give a reason for his rejection, but has previously spoken out against Trump, insisting that he should not be allowed to speak in the Houses of Parliament due to his bigoted views.
"I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons," Bercow said in 2017.
See Also:
- Donald Trump will come to UK for state visit on June 3
- Conservative MPs want Theresa May to resign as prime minister in ‘a matter of days’
- Trump insists ‘nobody disobeys my orders’ after Mueller report cited numerous examples of aides disobeying his orders
Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Adam Bienkov)