GETTY Thousands have signed a petition calling on Donald Trump to be banned from Britain

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A staggering FOUR Britons a second have signed a petition calling for the billionaire to be blocked from entering the UK, after he vowed to ban all Muslims from America. The UK petition on the parliament website calling for MPs to impose a bar on Mr Trump hit 200,000 signatures by 3.45pm.



And seven hours later the petition had been signed by more than 340,000 people in total. A "heat map" suggests the constituencies of Bristol West, Bethnal Green and Bow and Holborn and St Pancras are among the areas where the most signatures have come from. The petition follows the property tycoon's call for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims" entering the US and his claim that parts of London were "so radicalised" that police were "afraid for their own lives".

George Osborne, who stood in for David Cameron during Prime Minister's Questions, was cautious on the question of whether Mr Trump should be banned from entering the UK. He said: "I think the best way to confront the views of someone like Donald Trump is to engage him in a robust democratic argument about why he is profoundly wrong about the contribution of American Muslims and indeed British Muslims. "That is the best way to deal with Donald Trump and his views rather than trying to ban presidential candidates." Downing Street also said any question of a ban on Mr Trump coming to Britain was "hypothetical" as it was not aware of any plans for him to visit. Home Secretary Theresa May declined to comment on the prospect of a ban, but did defend British police after Mr Trump's comments about London. She said: "On the question of policing in London, I can assure you that Mr Trump has got it absolutely wrong," she said. "Police in London are not afraid to go out and police the streets. They do a fantastic job for us day in, day out."

GETTY Mr Trump made the comments in the wake of the mass shooting by a radicalised couple in California

At 12.30pm on Wednesday more than 100,000 people had signed an online petition stating: "The signatories believe Donald J Trump should be banned from UK entry". Reaching the 100,000 threshold means it will have to be considered for debate in Parliament. Radical candidate Trump has sparked international outrage after he pledged to bar access to the US for all Muslims if he were to win power. The property tycoon is hoping to win the Republican nomination to run in next November's presidential election.

GETTY Mr Trump is currently the Republican frontrunner

The petition adds: "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." Just after 8.30am this morning, 45,000 people had signed the petition meaning more than doubled its support in less than four hours.

GETTY The billionaire visited his Scottish golf course this summer

The Prime Minister completely disagrees with the comments made by Donald Trump, which are divisive, unhelpful and quite simply wrong. David Cameron's spokeswoman

Trump, who is worth an estimated $4.5billion (£3bn), yesterday tried to justify his extremist policy by bizarrely claiming some parts of London are so "radicalised" police officers fear for their lives. The 69-year-old said he was calling for an American ban on Muslims so the country is not left with no-go areas where police are "afraid for their own lives" from Islamist terrorists like in Paris and London. Referring to the recent Islamic State (ISIS) attacks in the French capital, he said: "Look at what happened in Paris, the horrible carnage, and frankly, if you look at Paris, and I hate to do this because the Chamber of Commerce is going to go crazy, but Paris is no longer the same city it was. "They have sections in Paris that are radicalised, where the police refuse to go there. They're petrified. The police refuse to go in there. "We have places in London and other places that are so radicalised that the police are afraid for their own lives. We have to be very smart and very vigilant."

Do we get to ban Donald Trump? — Sarah Wollaston MP (@sarahwollaston) December 7, 2015

Mayor of London Boris Johnson hit back at Trump's false portrayal of the capital, quipping the only reason he wouldn't go to some parts of New York "is the real risk of meeting Donald Trump". He added: "As a city where more than 300 languages are spoken, London has a proud history of tolerance and diversity and to suggest there are areas where police officers cannot go because of radicalisation is simply ridiculous." Prime Minister David Cameron also branded Trump's far-right views "divisive, unhelpful and quite simply wrong" while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn branded the American politician's comments an "affront to humanity" and called for people to "unite against racism". The Metropolitan Police said they "would not normally dignify such comments with a response" but added Trump "could not be more wrong" with his description of 'no-go areas' in the capital. He was also offered a briefing on "the reality of policing London". Many have seen Trump's shock outburst as a desperate attempt to deflect from his faltering poll ratings.

Yesterday Tory MP Dr Sarah Wollaston led calls for the Government to consider banning the US presidential hopeful from Britain. A leading British thinktank called on the Home Office to consider banning Trump from travelling to the UK until he retracts his "highly prejudiced comments". The property tycoon owns three golf courses in Britain and Ireland. He visited his £35m course in Turnberry, Scotland as recently as July. British Future director Sunder Katwala said in a statement on his organisation's website: "It is hugely irresponsible for a prominent figure like Trump to fan the flames of prejudice in this way and raises questions over whether the UK should consider barring Trump from the UK on hate speech grounds. "The proposals are ludicrous and unconstitutional, and will be rejected by America’s decent majority, among them many proud Muslim Americans. They are also a gift to ISIS propaganda, playing into the idea of a ‘clash of civilisations’. He added: "It is important that the UK Government makes very clear that this extreme view is rejected and repudiated in the strongest possible terms. "The UK Home Office has set out clear guidelines which have led to the exclusion of preachers of hate from the UK if their presence here would not be conducive to the public good. "Theresa May has excluded extreme Islamists on these grounds, and also kept out those who have fanned extreme anti-Muslim prejudice, such as the bloggers Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer. Trump’s statements are more extreme than theirs. "Unless and until Trump were to retract these highly prejudiced comments, there is a good case for making clear that he would be refused entry to the UK by the Home Secretary." Extremists Geller and Spencer were banned from attending a far-right English Defence League march in 2013 because their presence would not have been "conducive to the public good".

GETTY David Cameron branded Trump's comments 'divisive'