Theresa May does 'not agree' with US ban on refugees

Prime Minister Theresa May does "not agree" with Donald Trump's refugee ban and will appeal to the US if it affects British citizens, Downing Street says.

She had been criticised for refusing to condemn the move, instead saying it was up to the US to decide its own policy.

The order halts all refugee admissions and has temporarily barred people from seven Muslim-majority countries.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the PM should have spoken out against the order earlier.

President Trump's executive order, signed on Friday, halted the entire US refugee programme and also instituted a 90-day travel ban for nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

A US judge has issued a stay temporarily halting the deportation of visa holders or refugees "caught up" in the aftermath of the ban's imposition.

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Mrs May visited the US on Friday, followed by a trip to Turkey, and within hours of landing back in the UK, Downing Street released a statement clarifying her position.

"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," said a spokesman.

"But we do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking."

Is it worth the backlash for May?

By Susana Mendonca, BBC political reporter

Before all the hand holding and pally smiles, Theresa May promised the world she would not be afraid to tell Donald Trump what she thought when she disagreed with him.

It didn't take long for her to fall at the first hurdle.

The PM changed her tune hours later, but this tougher stance only came after wide condemnation of her failure to condemn Mr Trump in the first place.

Even her own MPs were angry. One who happens to be Iraqi born said he was also now banned from the US; another said she didn't care how "special" the relationship was, some lines shouldn't be crossed.

And that's the trouble for Theresa May. Donald Trump is bound to cross yet more lines, and if she doesn't criticise him she'll look like the weak partner obeying the powerful one.

The real question for her will be whether keeping Donald Trump sweet in the interests of getting a good trade deal for Britain is worth the backlash she'll get for not being candid enough when she and Britain disagrees with him.

Mrs May's refusal to openly challenge the ban at Saturday's press conference prompted criticism from politicians, including Conservative MPs.

Nadhim Zahawi, Tory MP for Stratford-on-Avon, is of Iraqi origin and said a US immigration lawyer had told him he would be affected by the ban.

"A sad, sad day to feel like a second-class citizen," he said. "Sad day for the USA."

There are also concerns that British athletes such as Sir Mo Farah, who lives in the US but was was born in Somalia, and former Team GB basketball player Luol Deng, who was born in Sudan and now plays with the Los Angeles Lakers, could be affected.

Number 10 said it was studying the executive order and would "make representations" to the US government if any UK nationals were affected.

But Labour's Jeremy Corbyn said Mrs May showed "weak failure" in standing up for British values.

"President Trump's executive order against refugees and Muslims should shock and appal us all," he added.