‘Red carpet treatment’ not appropriate for Trump UK visit, says Nicola Sturgeon

NICOLA STURGEON has said it is not appropriate for US president Donald Trump to be given the “red carpet treatment” when he visits the UK next month.

The First Minister said she had been “appalled” at images of crying children being separated from their parents at the Mexican border.

Mr Trump is due in the UK for a working visit on Friday July 13 and is expected to include Scotland in his itinerary.

SNP MSP Ruth Maguire raised the forthcoming visit and the outrage over migrant family separations during First Minister’s Questions at Holyrood.

Ms Sturgeon responded: “I don’t think it’s appropriate at this time for the red carpet to be rolled out. Meetings are perhaps one thing but red carpet treatment is another.

“I don’t think there can be anybody, well perhaps with the exception of Nigel Farage and his ilk, but I don’t think there can be any decent person across the UK, across Europe or even across the world and the vast majority of people in America for that matter, who have not been appalled at the images and the stories of young children being separated from their parents and incarcerated in what look to all intents and purposes to be cages in America.

“I’m glad that the president appeared to U-turn on that position yesterday when he signed an executive order, although I think we’ve all got to be careful not to just assume that the situation now is ok, because it appears to be that instead of children being detained without their parents, we will see children detained with their parents.

“I will continue to raise my voice against instances like this, and of course it’s not just in America this week that we’ve seen reasons to be concerned.

“In Italy the conduct around the Roma community, reports today of Hungary deciding to criminalise lawyers and activists who help asylum seekers should make us all pause for thought.

“We should be standing up for the rights and values that all of us hold dear as human beings.

“The world has a collective responsibility to deal with those seeking refuge and asylum and I think it’s important that we do that collectively, but that we also do that with human dignity at the very forefront of our minds. That’s my view and I hope it’s the view of everybody across this chamber.”