Britons with dual citizenship will be exempt from US President Donald Trump's controversial travel ban, the UK Foreign Office has confirmed.
In an executive order signed on Friday, Mr Trump halted the arrival of refugees for at least 120 days and imposed tough new controls on travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen for the next three months.
The US president's team told UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson that Britons who have shared nationality with one of the seven mainly Muslim countries will not be stopped from entering America.
But UK dual citizens travelling to the United States directly from one of the banned countries will face extra checks.
Statement on what the Presidential exec order on inbound migration to US means to Brit nationals/dual nationals. https://t.co/1vpjcXbZBg
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) January 29, 2017
Earlier, Downing Street said that British Prime Minister Theresa May ordered Mr Johnson and Home Secretary Amber Rudd to telephone their American counterparts to make representations about the US travel ban.
Mrs May held a conference call with Mr Johnson and Ms Rudd this morning instructing them to raise concerns about the block on refugees and many Muslims, particularly the impact it will have on Britons.
Sources at No 10, Downing Street said the move showed how seriously Mrs May was taking the issue and she was "absolutely determined" to respond to the fears of Britons about the ban.
Mr Johnson earlier branded Mr Trump's controversial policy "divisive and wrong", and criticised the decision to "stigmatise" people based on their nationality.
Prime Minister Theresa May faced a backlash after repeatedly refusing to criticise Mr Trump over the ban when questioned about the policy during a press conference on a visit to Turkey.
No 10 later said the Prime Minister did "not agree" with the policy and would act to help UK citizens.
Mo Farah relieved to be exempt from 'divisive' travel ban
A spokeswoman for British athlete Mo Farah has said that he is relieved to be exempt from US travel restrictions and that he can return to his family but still "fundamentally disagrees with this incredibly divisive and discriminatory policy".
The Somalia-born four-time Olympic champion was concerned Mr Trump's travel ban would force him to be separated from his wife and four children. He lives and trains in the US.
But a clarification of the policy has now made it clear the exclusion will not apply to the athlete, who lives and trains in Portland, Oregon.
A spokeswoman for the athlete said: "We understand from the statement released this evening by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office that the executive order will not apply to Mo, and we are grateful to the FCO for urgently clarifying the situation.
"Mo is relieved that he will be able to return to his family once his current training camp concludes. However, as he said in his earlier statement, he still fundamentally disagrees with this incredibly divisive and discriminatory policy."
Farah trains in Portland, Oregon, where he lives with his wife Tania and their four children.
Trump's visit to UK should be 'called off' - Corbyn
Britain’s Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said Mr Trump's state visit to the UK should be called off until he cancels the ban on citizens from several Muslim countries entering the US.
He said it is not right to host the US president while the "awful attacks on Muslims" are going on.
He told ITV's Peston On Sunday: "Is it really right to endorse somebody who has used this awful misogynistic language throughout the election campaign, awful attacks on Muslims, and then of course this absurd idea of building a wall between themselves and their nearest neighbour?"
He added: "I think we should make it very clear we are extremely upset about it, and I think it would be totally wrong for him to be coming here while that situation is going on. I think he has to be challenged on this. "I am not happy with him coming here until that ban is lifted, quite honestly.
"Look at what's happening with those countries, how many more is it going to be and what is going to be the long term effect of this on the rest of the world?" Former leader of the Liberal Democrats Paddy Ashdown has questioned the state visit on Twitter.
He posted: "Am I alone in finding it impossible to bear that in pursuit of her deeply wrong-headed policies our PM is now forcing THAT MAN on our Queen."
Am I alone in finding it impossible to bear that in pursuit of her deeply wrong-headed policies our PM is now forcing THAT MAN on our Queen?
— Paddy Ashdown (@paddyashdown) January 29, 2017
Mr Trump is due to be hosted by Queen Elizabeth in London later this year after accepting an invitation for a state visit from Prime Minister Theresa May.
But there are mounting calls for the trip to be cancelled after the US president imposed a travel ban on refugees and citizens from seven mainly-Muslim countries.
Mr Corbyn questioned why Mrs May was so quick to invite the president given his highly controversial policies, including plans to build a wall blocking the US border with Mexico.
He said: "It's slightly odd he should be invited so quickly, particularly in view of the statements he has made, and I suspect this visit is something which might find its way into the long grass."
Scottish National Party's foreign affairs spokesman Alex Salmond said he thought the state visit was "a very bad idea".
He told Sky News' Sophy Ridge: "You shouldn't be rushing into a headlong relationship with the President of the United States."
Mr Salmond said reports Mr Trump was reluctant to meet Prince Charles during the visit were "an indication of the sort of enormous difficulties you get into when you hold somebody tight who is unpredictable, who has a range of views you find unacceptable.
"The one thing I can tell you about Donald Trump, and absolutely this is from personal experience, you should never, ever, ever negotiate or deal with Donald Trump from a position of weakness, and that is exactly what Theresa May has been doing."
