--- description: The U.K. Foreign Secretary defended inviting President Trump for a state visit as outcry increases over executive order title: Donald Trump U.K State Visit Defended Amid Outcry image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt58b6a23038b88c9c/6988b7da97cdff773a6af4e9/gettyimages-631880424.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Britain's Boris Johnson Jeered as He Defends Trump Invitation by [Zamira Rahim](/author/zamira-rahim/) ## Zamira Rahim Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 30, 2017 6:03 PM CUT  LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 17: British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson leaves after listening to British Prime Minister Theresa May's keynote speech on Brexit at Lancaster House on January 17, 2017 in London, England. In the speech, she announced that the UK is to leave the single market. LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 17: British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson leaves after listening to British Prime Minister Theresa May's keynote speech on Brexit at Lancaster House on January 17, 2017 in London, England. In the speech, she announced that the UK is to leave the single market.Leon Neal-Getty Images by [Zamira Rahim](/author/zamira-rahim/) ## Zamira Rahim Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 30, 2017 6:03 PM CUT U.K. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson defied loud heckling from fellow lawmakers in parliament on Monday to defend an invitation to President Donald Trump to visit Britain this year, amid growing controversy over the new U.S. administration’s [immigration restrictions](http://time.com/4652953/donald-trump-muslim-ban/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined"). Hours after a[ petition ](https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/171928/ "undefined")calling for the state visit to be cancelled [passed a million signatures](http://time.com/4653162/donald-trump-theresa-may-muslim-ban/?iid=sr-link2 "undefined"), Johnson said that President Trump, as leader of the U.K.’s ” closest and most important ally” should be granted the honor of a state visit, [The Guardian reports](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/live/2017/jan/30/sturgeon-tells-may-time-is-running-out-to-get-brexit-plan-acceptable-to-scotland-politics-live "undefined"). Dismayed British M.P.s heckled the Foreign Secretary, with one urging him to “speak out” and another calling the Prime Minister “Theresa the Appeaser”. Protests against the executive order are expected across the U.K. > [](https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson/status/825675088561307648) British Prime Minister Theresa May invited President Trump to the U.K. during her [trip to Washington D.C.](http://time.com/4652108/donald-trump-theresa-may-russia-nato/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined"), before he signed an executive order preventing citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S. Johnson said that the restrictions would not affect British citizens and that he felt anxious about “measures that discriminate on grounds of nationality in ways that are divisive and wrong.” \[[_The Guardian_](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/live/2017/jan/30/sturgeon-tells-may-time-is-running-out-to-get-brexit-plan-acceptable-to-scotland-politics-live "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4653676/boris-johnson-trump-invitation-parliament/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4653676/boris-johnson-trump-invitation-parliament/"},"headline":"Britain's Boris Johnson Jeered as He Defends Trump Invitation","datePublished":"2017-01-30T18:03:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T03:01:52.818Z","description":"A petition calling for the visit to be cancelled has gained over a million signatures","url":"https://time.com/4653676/boris-johnson-trump-invitation-parliament/","keywords":["United Kingdom","Donald Trump","Theresa May"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt58b6a23038b88c9c/6988b7da97cdff773a6af4e9/gettyimages-631880424.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zamira Rahim","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zamira-rahim/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt58b6a23038b88c9c/6988b7da97cdff773a6af4e9/gettyimages-631880424.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The British Prime Minister Delivers Her Brexit Speech","caption":"The British Prime Minister Delivers Her Brexit Speech","creditText":"Leon Neal-Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4653676/boris-johnson-trump-invitation-parliament/","name":"Britain's Boris Johnson Jeered as He Defends Trump Invitation"}}]}] ```