Gateshead council vows to pay nothing for Trump state visit and urges other local authorities to do the same

The local council in Gateshead has voted to withhold "any council resources" from being used to support Donald Trump's state visit to the UK.

A motion calling Mr Trump's Muslim travel ban "extreme and discriminatory" was passed unanimously in the Tyne and Wear town on Thursday night.

The proposer, 53-year-old councillor Jonathan Wallace, told The Independent his aim was to "achieve a situation in which local government isn't paying for this visit". "It's nothing to do with us," he added.

Prime Minister Theresa May has said she will be "very happy" to host Mr Trump later this year despite a petition, signed by some 1.8 million people, calling for the US President to be barred from meeting the Queen in case it embarrasses her.

Cllr Wallace added: "Local government is under enough pressure as it is. We should not have to pay anything towards a state visit."

Asked whether that was likely, he said that Mr Trump may be taken to visit buildings or other sites owned by local authorities, for which they should not be billed.

Gateshead Council will now write to the Local Government Association "to encourage all councils to take a similar stand".

During the meeting Cllr Wallace told colleagues: "This guy is a bully, he's a misogynist, he's a racist, he's Islamophobic, xenophobic, Europhobic. He described an entire nation's men as 'rapists' at the same time as bragging about sexually assaulting women."