Britain wins reprieve amid Donald Trump's Muslim ban chaos

Amid protests stretching from Miami to Washington and Seattle, Mr Johnson spent the day seeking reassurances that Britons with dual citizenship from one of the banned countries – such as four-time Olympic champion Sir Mo Farah – are not caught up in the ban.

Read more: Glasgow University principal Anton Muscatelli "appalled" over vet student's US flight ban

Mr Trump was continuing to defy opposition from dozens of judges and foreign leaders to stand firm on his executive order that has halted the country’s entire refugee programme for 120 days.

He also indefinitely banned Syrian refugees, and suspended all nationals from seven mainly Muslim countries from entering the US in a move that left those affected stranded in airports.

Mr Trump said: “America is a proud nation of immigrants and we will continue to show compassion to those fleeing oppression, but we will do so while protecting our own citizens and border.

He said visas would once again be issued once "the most secure policies" were in place, and denied it was a Muslim ban.

Read more: Glasgow University principal Anton Muscatelli "appalled" over vet student's US flight ban

He said it is "not about religion - this is about terror and keeping our country safe" and hit out at fellow some critical fellow Republican senators.

Mr Johnson was ordered by Downing Street to phone senior White House adviser Jared Kushner and Mr Trump’s chief strategist Stephen Bannon to find a way to stop Britons being affected.

The Foreign Secretary tweeted: “We will protect the rights and freedoms of UK nationals home and abroad. Divisive and wrong to stigmatise because of nationality.”

But Humza Yousaf, Scottish transport and the islands minister said the 'reprieve' announcement was missing the point pointing to the plight of Dr Hamaseh Tayari who lives in Glasgow and was "affected by Trump's #MuslimBan".

University of Glasgow Principal Professor Anton Muscatelli said he was “appalled” at the treatment of Ms Tayari, a veterinary student at the university who travels on an Iranian passport.

She was banned from flying back to Scotland and stranded in Costa Rica for a day-and-a-half after being caught up in the ban.

A petition is set to be debated in the UK Parliament after amassing more than 800,000 signatures calling for Mr Trump’s UK state visit later this year to be cancelled.

Mr Trump’s executive order means citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen are banned from entering the US for three months. There are are worries that some UK passport holders who were born in those countries may also be barred.

The Prime Minister Theresa May she did “not agree” with the travel ban which is hitting refugees and immigrants.

Read more: Glasgow University principal Anton Muscatelli "appalled" over vet student's US flight ban

No 10 sources 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.

On Saturday, Mrs May faced a backlash after repeatedly refusing to criticise President Trump’s actions.

At 10pm, the Foreign Office said Britons with dual citizenship would now be exempt from an outright ban and said the ban would apply to people flying from one of the seven named countries.

It added that UK nationals travelling from one of the seven countries are not banned even if they were born in one of the affected states.

And dual nations may have extra checks if they travel directly from one of the countries on the banned list.

The announcement meant that Somali-born four-time Olympic runner Sir Mo Farah, a British passport holder who lives in Portland, Oregon, could be reunited with his family after he had earlier expressed fears that they would be separated.

Read more: Glasgow University principal Anton Muscatelli "appalled" over vet student's US flight ban

Sir Mo had earlier said it was “deeply troubling that I will have to tell my children that daddy might not be able to come home – to explain  why the President has introduced a policy that comes from a place of ignorance and prejudice.”

“I am a British citizen who has lived in America for the past six years – working hard, contributing to  society, paying my taxes and bringing up our four children in the place they now call home.

“Now, me and many others like me are being told that we may not be welcome.”

After the Foreign Office’s new advice, Sir Mo’s spokesman said the athlete was ‘relieved’ that he could return to his family, but that he was still seeking clarification of the situation with the US authorities as a matter or urgency.

Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi, a British citizen who fled his home country of Iraq as a Kurdish refugee in the 1970s, had also feared he could have been banned from the US.

Meanwhile, in a joint statement, 16 US attorneys general, from states including California, New York and Pennsylvania, said the order was unconstitutional and they were confident it would be struck down by the courts”.  Their statement said in the meantime they were “committed to working to ensure that as few people as possible suffer from the chaotic situation that has been created”.

But the President hit back with a tweet apparently referencing terror attacks in Europe as protests were launched across the US for a second day.

He said: “Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world - a horrible mess!”

He added: “Christians in the Middle-East have been executed in large numbers. We cannot allow this horror to continue!”

Meanwhile, a parliamentary petition to stop a state visit to the UK by Mr Trump amassed almost 800,000 signatures, far in excess of the 100,000 needed for it to be debated by MPs.

The First Minister, the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Scots Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, Lib Dem leader Tim Farron and SNP foreign affairs spokesman Alex Salmond are among those who say the state visit should not go ahead as long as the ban is in place.

Mr Trump said: “My policy is similar to what President Obama did in 2011 when he banned visas for refugees from Iraq for six months.

“The seven countries named in the Executive Order are the same countries previously identified by the Obama administration as sources of terror.

“To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting. This is not about religion - this is about terror and keeping our country safe.”

The United Nations called on Mr Trump to continue protecting refugees, regardless of race, nationality, or religion.

And David Miliband, the former foreign minister and president of the International Rescue Committee refugee assistance group said the order was a “propaganda gift” to ISIS and al Qaeda.

But Mr Trump’s chief of staff  Reince Priebus said only 109 people, out of 325,000 travelling, had been detained and that it “wasn’t chaos”.

Presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway said the order saying it was “a small price to pay” and deflected criticism over countries like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan not being included in the ban. 

“These are countries that have a history of training, harbouring, exporting terrorists,” she said. “We can’t keep pretending and looking the other way.”

Judge Ann Donnelly in New York issued a temporary halt on the deportation of people who had already arrived in the US with valid visa but were being denied entry at border control.  She was ruling on the case of two Iraqi men with links to the US military who were detained at JFK Airport in New York.

But the US Department of Homeland Security said the court order would not affect the overall implementation of the White House order.

“The president’s executive orders remain in place prohibited travel will remain prohibited, and the US government retains its right to revoke visas at any time if required for national security or public safety,” the DHS said.

The Muslim Council of Britain urged the Government to “stand up for British values” and called on ministers to speak out more forcefully.

And the Iraqi parliament’s foreign affairs committee said in a statement: “Iraq is in the front line of the war on terrorism ... and it is unfair that the Iraqis are treated in this way.”

Meanwhile Asghar Farhadi, Iranian director of The Salesman which is up for a best foreign-language movie Oscar has said he will not attend the ceremony because of the travel ban.