Thousands of people are gathering outside Downing Street and other locations across Britain to protest Donald Trump’s refugee ban.
Watch HuffPost UK’s Facebook live broadcast from the event here...
The ‘Emergency demo against Trump’s #MuslimBan and UK complicity’ will be attended on Monday by a number of speakers including Lily Allen, Ed Miliband and Baroness Shami Chakrabarti.
Other cities include:
- Aberdeen - 6pm Castlegate
- Aberystwyth - 6pm Aberystwyth Bandstand, Marine Terrace
- Bangor - 7pm at the clock
- Birmingham - 6pm Victoria Square
- Brighton - 6pm Town Hall
- Bristol - 6pm College Green
- Broadstairs - 6:30pm outside Broadstairs Tory Office
- Cardiff - 6:30pm by the Anuerin Bevan statue
- Cambridge - 5pm Great St Mary’s, the University Church
- Cheltenham - 7pm Promenade
- Colchester - 6pm Town Hall
- Dundee - 6pm Dundee City Square
- Derby - 5pm Council House
- Edinburgh - 6pm The Mound by the National gallery
- Exeter - 6pm Bedford Square
- Falmouth - 5pm The Moor
- Glasgow - 6pm George Square
- Hastings - 6pm Robertson Street
- Hull - 5pm Queen Victoria Square
- Isle of Wight - 6pm Newport
- Leeds - 5:30 Dortmund Square
- Leicester - 5:30pm Haymarket memorial Clock Tower
- Liverpool - 6pm St George’s Hall
- Newcastle - 5:30pm Grey’s Monument
- Manchester - 6pm Albert Square
- Maidstone - 6pm Jubilee Square
- Nottingham - 5:30pm Market Square
- Oxford - 5:30pm Carfax Tower
- Plymouth - 5:30 pm Charles Cross police station
- Portsmouth - 7pm Portsmouth Guildhall
- Preston - 6pm Harris Library
- Sheffield - 6pm Town Hall
- St Andrews - 7pm St Andrews Student Union
- Swansea - 6pm Castle Square
- Totnes - 6pm Mini roundabout bottom of Fore Street
- Whitney - 6pm Market Square
- York - 5pm St Helen’s Square
Nearly 50,000 people have expressed an interest in going to the Downing Street demonstration at 6pm and it has received the backing of a number of MPs and high-profile supporters.
Speakers to attend the Downing St march include:
- Baroness Shami Chakrabarti
- Mohammed Ateek (Syrian refugee)
- Caroline Lucas MP
- Baroness Sayeeda Warsi
- Wail Qasim (Black Lives Matter)
- Ed Miliband MP
- Mhairi Black MP
- Asad Rehman (Friends of the Earth)
- Lily Allen
- Clive Lewis MP
- Zrinka Bralo (Migrants Organise)
- Shappi Khorsandi (comedian)
- Bianca Jagger
- Talha Ahma (Muslim Council of Britain)
- Kate Hudson (CND)
- Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh MP
- Malia Bouattia (NUS President)
- Natasha Walter (Women for Refugee Women, Women’s March
The protests come after Theresa May announced last Friday that Trump had accepted an invitation for a state visit to the UK.
Almost immediately a petition was launched calling for it to be cancelled until Trump drops his controversial travel restrictions. On Monday the petition surpassed one million signatures.
Downing Street has confirmed the state visit will not be cancelled.
Speaking on Radio 5 Live at midday, Jones said: “Our Prime Minister is presenting herself as a stooge of this man, this bigot, this misogynist, this racist.
“This isn’t about disagreeing with someone, our Theresa May should be taking a stand.
“She should follow the example of Angela Merkel. Germany looks strong, we look weak, like a puppet.
“It’s something we should be ashamed of.
The US President’s executive order on Friday, which banned refugees from entering the US from seven predominantly Muslim countries, sparked outrage, with thousands of people demonstrating at airports.
A statement on the government petition reads: “Donald Trump should be allowed to enter the UK in his capacity as head of the US Government, but he should not be invited to make an official state visit because it would cause embarrassment to Her Majesty the Queen.”
It continues: “Donald Trump’s well documented misogyny and vulgarity disqualifies him from being received by Her Majesty the Queen or the Prince of Wales.
“Therefore during the term of his presidency Donald Trump should not be invited to the United Kingdom for an official State Visit.”
The event pages for the demonstrations read:
Donald Trump has imposed a ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US.
That includes people who helped the US army. That includes people on holiday trying to get home via the United States. That includes people trying to be reunited with their dying parents.
It also includes Britons with dual nationality. Like our national hero Mo Farah. Even the Iraq-born Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi.
Theresa May has decided to ally herself with Donald Trump’s bigoted, misogynistic government. She has refused to speak out against Donald Trump’s #MuslimBan - even when her own Members of Parliament are targeted. It is not only weak, it is a matter of national shame - disgracing our country across the world.
There are moments of terrible injustice throughout history where we look back and rightly ask - what did people do? Future generations will look back at the targeting of Muslims - as we look back at the targeting of Jews - with disgust, horror and shame. If we do not speak out, we are complicit.
Theresa May has betrayed her own people. That doesn’t mean we have to. Let’s stand in solidarity with those targeted by Donald Trump’s hateful government, including the people of this country, outside Downing Street and all over Britain.
Other governments - like Canada, like France, like Germany - have spoken out. Our weak, cowardly government has refused to. Let’s not have the same cowardice and betrayal as our own government.
More details soon - about this Monday, and also a possible march on Saturday - but please share this everywhere.