The British parliament will formally debate a petition later this month from backers wishing to prevent Donald Trump from entering the United Kingdom.
The debate is set for January 18, according to a government announcement Tuesday. The petition, launched after Trump announced his proposal to bar Muslims from entering the United States, has garnered over 568,000 signatures to date.
Online petitions like the one targeting Trump are automatically considered for debate by a Petitions Committee if they garner more than 100,000 signatures.
The petition reads: "The signatories believe Donald J Trump should be banned from UK entry. The UK has banned entry to many individuals for hate speech. The same principles should apply to everyone who wishes to enter the UK. If the United Kingdom is to continue applying the 'unacceptable behaviour' criteria to those who wish to enter its borders, it must be fairly applied to the rich as well as poor, and the weak as well as powerful."
British Prime Minister David Cameron condemned Trump's proposal last month, calling the GOP frontrunner's comments "divisive, unhelpful and quite simply wrong."
