UK prime minister refuses to condemn Trump's Muslim ban

UK Prime Minister Theresa May repeatedly refused to condemn an order by US President Donald Trump to suspend refugee arrivals and entry to people from seven Muslim-majority countries.

May - who was the first world leader to meet with the new US president - said Washington was responsible for its own refugee policy.

"The United States is responsible for the United States' policy on refugees. The United Kingdom is responsible for the United Kingdom's policy on refugees," May told the press in Ankara.

During the press conference, which May held jointly with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım after signing a controversial £100 million fighter jet deal with Ankara, the UK leader repeatedly avoided giving her opinion on the ban.

When initially asked to comment on Trump's executive order, May only said that she was "very pleased" to have met the US president in Washington the day before.

She evaded the question by hailing Ankara's welcoming of millions of refugees and reaffirming the UK's support for regional countries that were taking in Syrian refugees.

It was only after she was asked again by the press that May agreed to comment.

Former Labour leader Ed Miliband blasted the prime minister's reluctance and failure to condemn Trump's ban, calling her reaction "shocking" and "wrong". 

"It flies in the face of the values of people across Britain," Miliband said.

British people and Muslims across the world also spoke out against May's perceived cowardice.