A petition to bar US presidential hopeful and billionaire Donald Trump from entering the UK has surpassed 150,000 signatures.

The petition on the official UK government’s petitions website was launched on Tuesday in response to the controversial billionaire’s comments that all Muslim’s should be banned from entering the US and unsubstantiated claim that there were areas of London where British police feared to enter due to Muslim extremism.

The petition states:

“The UK has banned entry to many individuals for hate speech. The same principles should apply to everyone who wishes to enter the UK.

“If the United Kingdom is to continue applying the ‘unacceptable behaviour’ criteria to those who wish to enter its borders, it must be fairly applied to the rich as well as poor, and the weak as well as powerful.”

London mayor Boris Johnson retorted that Trump’s claims about London were “complete and utter nonsense” and added:

“Crime has been falling steadily both in London and in New York – the only reason I wouldn’t go to some parts of New York is the real risk of meeting Donald Trump.”

Chancellor George Osborne also criticised Trump’s comments but has rejected calls for him to be banned from the UK.

However, as the petition has now surpassed 100,000 signatures, it will be debated in parliament.

Trump is currently the frontrunner to become the Republican nominee for next year’s US election, but his outspoken and often incomprehensible comments continue to cause controversy.

Jeb Bush,, another presidential hopeful, has called Trump’s comments “dangerous” and a threat to US national security in an op-ed published on Tuesday in the National Review.