Theresa May vowed to fight Donald Trump if he goes ahead with his election campaign pledge to ban Muslims from entering the US.
She said she would 'ensure the dignity of our citizens' in response to questions from MPs demanding she stands up to the President-elect over his controversial immigration policy.
But Mrs May's response was branded 'shameful' by shadow home secretary Diane Abbott, who accused the Prime Minister of failing to condemn Mr Trump.
There are doubts over whether the Republican President-elect will follow through on his pledge to ban Muslims from entering the US after the policy temporarily disappeared from his campaign website. It reappeared shortly afterwards .
The then outsider for the Republican nomination shocked the world in December last year when he called for a 'total and complete shutdown' to Muslim immigration to the US.
Mrs May, then the home secretary, described Mr Trump's plan as 'plain wrong,' while Boris Johnson branded him 'unfit' to be President.
At Prime Minister's Questions today in the Commons, SNP MP Tommy Shepherd demanded she stands up to Mr Trump to 'respect the dignity of all of our citizens, irrespective of their race and religion'.
The Prime Minister responded: 'The special relationship we have with the United States is very important – I think for both the United States and the United Kingdom.
'We will be continuing to build on that special relationship – that was very clear with the conversations I had with President-elect Trump shortly after his election as President-elect.
'But we of course want to ensure the dignitary of our citizens. It is up to the United States what rules they put into place in terms of entry across their borders. But we will be ensuring that special relationship continues – and continues in the interests of both the UK and the US.'
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