[James]

These petitions are bit reactionary, in the true sense of the word. People are seeing something they don't like and then putting their names to something without thinking of the long-term consequences.

Imagine how Trump would react if we did cancel the state visit, having offered it? He would treat it as a major personal snub - we've given state visits to all recent US Presidents - and he would ignore our views even more. He's the President of the United States and we need to co-operate with the US, not just because of the trade deal, but also because we want them to keep committed to NATO, which Trump has threatened before not to do.

I saw Malcolm Rifkind on the news earlier and he said that with Trump not having any political experience, and not knowing much about foreign affairs he will be relying on other advisor's opinions to mold his opinions. The British government has to be involved in that to have whatever influence we can.