LONDON — Thousands of protesters rallied outside parliament on Monday as MPs debated a petition to cancel a state visit by US President Donald Trump which gained more than 1.8 million signatures. British Prime Minister Theresa May became the first foreign leader to meet Trump in the White House in January, when she invited him to the UK on a state visit to be hosted by Queen Elizabeth II later this year. Lawmakers also discussed a counter-petition to uphold the state visit invite, which attracted over 300,000 signatures. During the debate, opposition Labour MP David Lammy said the government offered the state visit because it is "desperate" for a trade deal with the US. While Trump was offered a state visit after just seven days in office, his predecessor Barack Obama had to wait 758 days before receiving the same invitation.

Source: Viet Nam News February 21, 2017 04:05 UTC