PROTESTORS will gather in the town centre tonight as opposition to Donald Trump's controversial ban on refugees entering the US continues to mount.

Swindon joins a long list of towns and cities across the UK where protests are planned - the demonstration is set to take place from 6pm at Wharf Green.

The announcement comes after almost 3,000 Swindon residents backed a petition calling on the government to withdraw Trump’s invitation to take part in a state visit to the UK later this year.

The petition, which was only launched in the early hours of Sunday morning, has already passed one million signatures, making it the second most signed petition since the scheme first started.

MPs will decide on Tuesday whether to debate the issue in parliament.

Last week, Theresa May became the first foreign leader to visit Donald Trump in the White House.

During the course of her visit, the Prime Minister extended an invitation on behalf of the Queen for Trump and his wife to visit the UK on a state visit planned for June.

But within hours of Mrs May leaving Washington, the new administration caused international uproar by introducing a 120 day ban of refugee arrivals in the US.

The policy also bans any entries to the US from seven majority-Muslim countries – Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen – for 90 days.

The US Syrian refugee resettlement programme has been suspended indefinitely.

The announcement, signed off by a Presidential executive order, sparked spontaneous protests at airports across America with similar demonstrations planned for towns and cities in this country over the coming week.

Some of those impacted by the ban were already in the air when it was signed. When they arrived in the US they were met with handcuffs, detention, interrogation and in some cases deportation.

Pictures of elderly couples in wheelchairs finally emerging from custody after being held for almost 24 hours went round the world.

The move prompted the leaders of Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the SNP to call for the state visit to be cancelled, at least until the Trump administration rethinks its immigration policy.

As of noon on Monday, 2,798 Swindonians had also backed that call by signing the petition – 1,190 from North Swindon and 1,608 from South Swindon.

MP for the south of the town, Robert Buckland, said he expected that the issue will now be debated but challenged the suggestion that a state visit was somehow equivalent to backing the US President’s controversial policies.

“With such a large number of signatories from across the country I think that a debate in Parliament will happen,” he said.

“I fully share the strong concern about the President’s current migration policy and I think that it is the wrong approach.

“We have been visited before by foreign leaders with whom we have differences.

“A visit by the US President or any other leader does not mean for one minute that we have to compromise on our principles. It is an opportunity for us to make our voices heard directly.”