Naz Shah: 'Donald Trump is a demagogue'

The US presidential candidate for the Republican Party sparked criticism earlier this year for calling for Muslims to be banned from the USA.

However after a petition calling for the property and golf course tycoon to be barred from the UK reached more than 500,000 signatures, politicians were required to hold a debate in the House of Commons.

Naz Shah, MP for Bradford West, said Mr Trump is a "demagogue" who "panders to people's fears".

She said: "I, as a Member of Parliament for Bradford West, would give an open invitation to Donald Trump to visit my constituency.

"And the reason I'd give him an open invitation to visit my constituency is I'd take him to the synagogue, I'd take him to the church, I'd take him to the mosques, I'd invite him for a curry - we are curry capital of Britain."

Ms Shah said she wouldn't be calling for a ban but did want to challenge his rhetoric of 'badness' by inviting him to West Yorkshire in a gesture of goodwill.

She said: "I stand here as a proud British Muslim woman...Donald Trump would like me banned from America, I wouldn't get my visa.

"In my Islam and the Koran I understand.. 'goodness is better than evil, if someone does bad, you do good in return'.

"So I will not allow the rhetoric of badness into my life, into my heart, but what I will do is challenge that with goodness."

US media is following the debate with interest, and earlier today Sarah Malone, executive vice president of Trump International Golf Links, described the debate as absurd.

She said: "Mr Trump is investing hundreds of millions of pounds into the Scottish economy and its greatest assets.

She added: "It is absurd that valuable parliamentary time is being wasted debating a matter raised as part of the American presidential election."

However Philip Davies, Conservative MP for Shipley, said he could relate to Mr Trump's fight against political correctness, and as a Yorkshireman, he applauds the presidential candidate's straight-talking approach to politics.

He said: "The sickening march of Islamic State is something all right-thinking people are clearly worried about.

"It is also clear that one path for terrorists and those who hate our way of life is to enter as immigrants and refugees. Determining what to do about that clear and worrying problem will obviously result in people having differing solutions.

"There will be some people in all of our constituencies who will agree with Donald Trump's views and some will disagree..."

"I happen to disagree with Donald Trump's view, but whatever people think surely he should be entitled to have this opinion and to express it, and to give all of those people who have that view a voice in the political process."