Westminster Hall

DUP MP Gavin Robinson says he agrees with the previous speaker, Sir Edward Leigh, who spoke against a ban. Mr Robinson argues that Mr Trump should be invited to the UK so he can be challenged by parliamentarians, the media and the public and "get a sense of the fury and frustration with his xenophobic remarks".

Mr Trump's remarks may get him the headlines and change political discourse in the US but he'd soon realise "it's bad policy" and would affect the US's reputation, he adds.

Westminster Hall

Conservative MP Sir Edward Leigh now has the floor. "It's no surprise to say I oppose the ban," he tells the room - and points out that it is only serving to give the US presidential hopeful publicity.

If the government acted on a ban it would only play into Mr Trump's hands as his entire style of politics "is to stoke controversy and say outrageous things".

Also among his reasons for opposing the ban, Sir Edward says free speech means the right to offend people.

"If we only allow free speech for those we already agree with, is that free speech at all?" he asks. It's also an attempt to "shut down an honest debate" on immigration, the MP suggests.

An audio montage of Donald Trump's most notable comments, from Radio 4's PM programme.

From the BBC's Ron Brown at Westminster Hall. earlier

Westminster Hall

The UK cannot exclude people merely because they offend us, Tulip Siddiq says, but she adds that politicians have to take difficult decisions when freedom of speech "insults public safety", claiming his rhetoric has led to an increase in anti-Muslim hate crimes.

Asked if she's laying all responsibility for that increase at Trump's door, she says she is not. "But there is a very real correlation" between his words and the increase, she adds.

Westminster Hall

Donald Trump is "tarnishing the entire Muslim community with the views of a small group of extremists", says Labour MP Tulip Siddiq. This online petition, she adds, shows that when people feel "a sense of justice... that we need to stop a poison, corrosive man from entering our country they will act in good conscience". She goes on to say:

Trump fits the criteria enabling a ban to be in place, Ms Siddiq adds.

Paul Scully, who represents the Sutton and Cheam constituency, points out it is the home secretary, not MPs, who has the power to decide whether to ban Mr Truimp, but this debate "allows us to have our say". He doesn't think the US presidential hopeful should be banned on the grounds of "stupidity".

He hopes MPs will use the debate to concentrate on practical ways the UK can tackle immigration and community cohesion "rather than worry about the ego of one man".

The chairman of the debate has imposed a six-minute time limit on MPs' speeches owing to the number wishing to take part.

Up next, Conservative MP Paul Scully, who echoes Paul Flynn's sentiment about why the Petitions Committee - of which he is a member - has decided to hold the debate.

Westminster Hall

Donald Trump's call for all Muslims to be barred entry to the US were "extraordinary" and "extremely dangerous", warning that it is the aim of al-Qaeda, Daesh and other extremist groups to divide the world between Christians and Muslims.

He suggests that instead of banning Mr Trump, he should be invited to the UK and asked to find the so-called "no-go areas" he said existed in London, remarking that "I've never been able to find one". 

It would also be an opportunity to show the capital's multiculturalism, he adds.

Continuing with his opening remarks, Paul Flynn cautions that "the great danger by attacking this one man is that we can fix on him a halo of victimhood" and "give him the role of martyrdom".

"That would be a grave error," he adds. But, addressing criticism of MPs using parliamentary time to debate banning Donald Trump, he says it would be "very difficult" to ignore the petition when it has attracted such support.

Home Affairs Committee chairman Keith Vaz intervenes to ask Paul Flynn, opening the debate, if he shares concerns about British Muslims who have been refused entry to the US. Whether they are Muslims or not there should be a clear indication of why people have been refused admission, he argues, Mr Flynn agrees it is a concern and says the cases need to be investigated.

Westminster Hall

Veteran Labour MP Paul Flynn, opening the debate, says the government published a list of 20 people denied entry to the UK between 2008 and 2009. He won't mention the names so as not to give them "extra notoriety", but says they include a leader of a violent gang and a preacher considered to be "seeking to provoke others to commit serious criminal acts".

"I think we should say that the situation with Donald Trump doesn't apply in those cases. These are far more serious and presented an immediate threat of violence," he adds. 

Iain Carter
BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

They used to argue that sport and politics should not mix.

This was the reasoning used to defend the playing of events in apartheid South Africa or to attack the tit-for-tat US and Russian Olympic boycotts of the 1980s.

It was, of course, a notion naive in the extreme. The trivial pursuits of sport go hand in hand with the serious business of government all over the world, and golf is no exception.

Remember US president George W Bush standing on a golf course, as he urged the world to unite against terrorism, before imploring us: "Now, watch this drive," and, in carefree fashion, thrashing away his tee shot?

His successor Barack Obama is another avid golfer. And the man leading the Republican race to follow him into the White House, Donald Trump, is inextricably linked with the game.

Read more