BBC citing anonymous sources said that the decision was made considering that rejection of Trump's proposed state visit to the U.K., which was announced last week during U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May's trip to the U.S., would be a "populist gesture," apart from the fact that the invitation has already been accepted.
"The government's position is that an invitation has been extended to the President and it has been accepted," Downing Street, the official residence of the prime minister, told CNBC.
The petition stated that Trump’s entry into the United Kingdom would cause embarrassment to “Her Majesty the Queen."
"Donald Trump's well documented misogyny and vulgarity disqualifies him from being received by Her Majesty the Queen or the Prince of Wales. Therefore during the term of his presidency Donald Trump should not be invited to the United Kingdom for an official State Visit," read the petition, started by Leeds solicitor Graham Guest.
"A state visit legitimises his presidency and he will use the photo opportunities and being seen with the Queen to get re-elected. ... The wording in the petition is quite precise as I actually say that he should come here as the head of government to do government-to-government business. ... At the end of the day he is still the president and we've just got to live with that. But there's no reason why he should get all the pomp and publicity of a state visit," Guest said, according to the BBC.
The petition follows widespread condemnation of Trump, both nationally and internationally, for signing an executive order Friday night that suspended the entry of citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Sudan and Yemen into the U.S. for 90 days with immediate effect in a move the White House described as strict new measures to "keep radical Islamic terrorists" out of America.
In response to the petition and the immigration ban, some British parliamentarians such as Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and London Mayor Sadiq Khan have publicly criticized Trump’s decision and the upcoming state visit. The petition has crossed the required threshold and would now have to be debated upon in the British parliament.
"I am quite clear, this ban is cruel, this ban is shameful, while this ban is in place we should not be rolling out the red carpet for President Trump," Sadiq Khan told Sky News, according to BBC.
Trump was congratulated by the Queen following his inauguration, according to a report in Woman and Home magazine, which added that “the official message has not yet been made public."