British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has revealed that dual nationality Brits will NOT be barred entry to the US under Donald Trump’s Muslim ban.
The new US President announced on Friday that all refugees would be banned from entering America.
Trump also banned nationals from seven mainly Muslim countries from entering the US.
It was feared that Brits holding dual passports to one of those countries could also be barred from entering America.
But Boris tweeted a Foreign Office statement which clarified what Trump’s executive order will mean in practice.
It read: “If you are a dual citizen of one of those countries travelling to the US from OUTSIDE those countries then the order does not apply to you.
“The only dual nationals who might have extra checks are those coming from one of the seven countries themselves – for example a UK-Libya dual national coming from Libya to the US.”
Earlier today Prime Minister Theresa May ordered Johnson and Home Secretary Amber Rudd to ‘make representations’ to their US officials over the new restrictions.
Johnson had condemned the President’s move as “divisive and wrong.”
May was yesterday criticised for not condemning the new rules but a spokesman later said she “does not agree” with the so called Muslim ban.
But Boris went further this afternoon by tweeting that the rules are “divisive and wrong”.
He wrote: “We will protect the rights and freedoms of UK nationals home and abroad. Divisive and wrong to stigmatise because of nationality.”
It is the strongest criticism yet from the UK government over Trump’s new rules.
The Foreign Office is under increasing pressure to offer advice to worried Brits planning to travel to the US.
The leader of the Liberal Democrats Tim Farron last night urged Theresa May to order the Foreign Office to issue urgent advice.
He said: “Today Theresa May said that Donald Trump’s ban on people from Muslim countries was purely a matter for America. We now learn that the State Department apparently advises that the visa ban also applies to people with dual nationality, which will include Britons.
“Even allowing for her cosying up to Donald Trump, it would be a gross abdication of her responsibilities to all British citizens if she doesn’t take this up with her new best friend now, making clear that anyone with a British passport and a visa should be allowed safe passage.
“She must also order the Foreign Office to deliver urgently tonight advice to British citizens travelling to the United States on whether they should continue to travel.”
British citizens don’t normally require a visa to enter the U.S.
The Prime Minister said she “does not agree” with Trump’s ban on migrants and refugees from Muslim countries, her spokesman said.
The Prime Minister came under pressure to condemn the President’s move to bar refugees from entering the US.
Mrs May repeatedly dodged the questions when asked for her view on the policy during a press conference in Turkey.
But as the hours that followed, her position became increasingly isolated as Europeans
In a statement issued in the early hours of Sunday, a spokesman for No 10 said: “Immigration policy in the United States is a matter for the government of the United States, just the same as immigration policy for this country should be set by our government.
“But we do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking.
“We are studying this new executive order to see what it means and what the legal effects are, and in particular what the consequences are for UK nationals.
“If there is any impact on UK nationals then clearly we will make representations to the US government about that.”
Mrs May finds herself in an uncomfortable position – having spoken glowingly of the UK’s ‘special relationship’ with America and was pictured holding hands with Trump during her recent visit.
But later, when pressed by reporters at the event in Ankara, Turkey, she insisted it was up to America to devise its own policy on refugees.
Her Turkish counterpart Binali Yildirim, however, hit out at the ban, warning the US that building a wall would not solve the crisis.
Speaking at the joint conference, Mrs May told reporters: “The United States is responsible for the United States policy on refugees.”
She added: “The United Kingdom is responsible for the United Kingdom’s policy on refugees and our policy on refugees is to have a number of voluntary schemes to bring Syrian refugees into the country, particularly those who are most vulnerable, but also to provide significant financial contributions to support refugees in countries surrounding Syria.”
The PM was immediately condemned by British politicians, including Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and former leader Ed Miliband.
Mr Trump, who was inaugurated as the 45th US President on January 20, has barred all refugees from entering the country for four months.
However, he has blocked those from war-ravaged Syria indefinitely as part of a plan to stop “radical Islamic terrorists”.
His order, signed on Friday afternoon, also imposes a 90-day ban on entry to the US from seven Muslim-majority nations.
When asked about the changes made by the president at today’s press conference, Mrs May focused on the action taken by the UK to help refugees.
Pressed a second time, the PM – who held talks with Mr Trump and was even pictured holding his hand in Washington on Friday – failed to answer.
She finally addressed the question when reporters shouted out “what about the US?”