George Osborne rejects calls for Donald Trump to be banned from the UK

Chancellor said Republican presidential candidate's comments 'flew in the face of the founding principle of the United States' but said his 'nonsense' views must be defeated through debate rather than banning him

George Osborne standing in for David Cameron at Prime Minister's Questions (PA)

George Osborne has rejected the growing calls for Donald Trump to be banned from the UK after he announced his plan to ban all Muslims from entering the United States.

The Chancellor dencounced the Republican presidential candidate's controversial remarks as going against the "founding principle of the United States" and said his "nonsense" views must be rejected by making it "very clear that his views are not welcome".

But he said the idea of using anti-extremism legislation to bar him from entering the UK would be wrong.

Mr Osborne's comments were echoed by his leadership rival Boris Johnson, who said Mr Trump's remarks made him "unfit" to be US President.

It comes as a petition calling for him to be banned surpassed the 100,000 signatures threshold needed for the proposal to be debated in Parliament.

Nicola Sturgeon stripped Mr Trump of his role as a business ambassador for Scotland, suggesting she agreed with calls for him to be blocked from the UK.

Speaking as he deputised for David Cameron at Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Osborne told MPs:

"Frankly, Trump's comments fly in the face of the founding principle of the United States and is one of the reasons why they have provided such an inspiration.

"The best way to defeat nonsense like this is to engage in robust democratic debate and make it very clear that his views are not welcome."

Mr Osborne also praised the "brilliant job" that the Metropolitan police do in the capital after Mr Trump claimed that some areas of London were "no-go-areas" for police because of large Muslim communities.

The Chancellor added that the relationship between the police and Muslims in London was "excellent".

Asked for his reaction to Mr Trump's claims about policing in London, Mr Johnson said: “I would invite him to come and see the whole of London and take him round the city, except I wouldn’t want to expose any Londoners to any unnecessary risk of meeting Donald Trump.

"I think Donald Trump is clearly out of his mind if he thinks that's a sensible way to proceed, to ban people going to the United States in that way, or to any country.

"What he's doing is playing the game of the terrorists and those who seek to divide us. That's exactly the kind of reaction they hope to produce.

"When Donald Trump says there are parts of London that are ‘no go’ areas, I think he’s betraying a quite stupefying ignorance that makes him frankly unfit to hold the office of President of the United States."

The Mayor of London added: "I would invite him to come and see the whole of London and take him round the city, except I wouldn’t want to expose any Londoners to any unnecessary risk of meeting Donald Trump."