'Ban Donald Trump' petition: Website crashes after more than 100,000 sign to reject Republican candidate
George Osborne has rejected calls to ban the candidate, instead calling for a 'robust debate' to defeat his 'nonsense'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The sheer number of people signing a petition calling for Donald Trump to be denied entry to the UK has crashed the government website.
PetitionParliament.uk was down for around 20 minutes on Wednesday morning shortly after the petition reached 100,000 signatures.
It now stands at over 160,000 with reports claiming as many as four people every second have signed the petition since it was created just 24 hours ago.
The Republican presidential hopeful released a statement on Monday calling for a “complete shutdown” on all Muslim immigration to the US, provoking near-global condemnation and guaranteeing wall-to-wall coverage.
His announcement followed a Monmouth poll that appeared to place rival Republican Ted Cruz ahead of the billionaire for the first time in the race to the White House.
It was followed by a claim parts of London and Paris are “so radicalised” police officers are “afraid for their very lives” when they enter these districts.
British politicians – including David Cameron and London mayor Boris Johnson – have condemned his remarks. But Chancellor George Osborne rejected calls to ban Trump, instead calling for a “robust debate” to defeat his “nonsense”.
Trump, who was long written-off by political pundits and observers as a joke candidate, has confounded traditional views as his polling figures continue to rise despite seemingly endless gaffes that would have derailed other candidates’ campaigns.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments