David Jackson

USA TODAY

Parliament debates in Great Britain are often lively, and this one may be especially so: Whether or not to ban Donald Trump from the United Kingdom over his comments about Muslims.

A House of Commons committee in London announced Tuesday that the members will debate the Trump issue on Jan. 18, in response to a petition calling for a ban on the Republican presidential candidate over his proposal to suspend the entry of Muslims into the United States.

More than 500,000 people signed the ban petition; more than 40,000 others signed a separate petition declaring that the New York businessman should be allowed to visit the country.

“We had two petitions, one which said ban Trump from the country and another which said let him in,” MP Steve Double told BuzzFeed News. “It’s a very interesting point — how do we, as an open democracy, deal with people who say things we perhaps don’t agree with. My personal view is that we shouldn’t ban people like Donald Trump but we should have the confidence to stand up for what we believe in, have an open debate and defeat the views in open debate.”

Trump has said his Muslim ban would be temporary, until the government can determine how to best address the threat of terrorism.

Notes BuzzFeed News:

"(Prime Minister) David Cameron has previously said Trump’s comments about banning Muslims from travelling to the US are 'divisive, stupid and wrong,' but the PM said he does not want to ban the businessman and would-be politician from the country.

"'I think if he came to visit our country he’d unite us all against him,' Cameron said in December."