Ian Hislop says we shouldn't ban Donald Trump because it will confirm his 'outsider' status

A petition appealing to the UK government to ban the presidential contender on hate grounds currently has over half a million signatures

Donald Trump called to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the US after the San Bernardino, California, attack on December 2 (AP)

Ian Hislop has said the UK shouldn’t ban Donald Trump from the UK so the Republican candidate cannot pretend he is being persecuted for telling the truth.

The presidential contender sparked outrage last week when he suggested banning all Muslims from entering the US until Congress could “figure out what to do”.

He later poured fuel on the fire by suggesting the UK should be “thanking him” for saying there were parts of London “so radicalised police were scared to enter”.

A petition calling for him to be blocked from entering the UK on hate grounds was set up in the aftermath - and it has now passed over half a million signatures.

But speaking on satirical news quiz Have I Got News For You, Hislop said banning Trump would give him exactly what he wanted.

He and guest panellist Andy Hamilton suggested Trump’s false “outsider” status among his supporters would be reinforced and they would further believe his claims the establishment does not want to hear what he has to say.

He said: “[Mr Trump says] ‘No-one wants to listen to these very sensible views, they’re banning me’.

“All you’ve got to do is listen to his views, and then you realise that you don’t have to listen to them.”

The latest in a string of controversies has started showing signs of damaging Mr Trump's lead with a poll ahead of the first Republican primary in Iowa showing him trailing 10 points behind his rival Ted Cruz.