Why is Parliament debating a petition written by ‘total bigots’?

Shortly after MPs return from the conference recess, they will debate a petition that orders the government to ‘close all borders and prevent more immigrants from entering Britain’ because ‘foreign citizens are taking all our benefits’ and ‘many of them are trying to change UK into a Muslim country’. It then adds that ‘there is footage of foreigners destroying British soldiers [sic] graves, which is a huge disrespect to us’. The petition has sailed past the 100,000 signature threshold and has over 185,000 names on it, which means it must be considered for debate in Parliament. MPs on the Petitions Committee have given it a Westminster Hall debate on 19 October.

My lobby colleague Jon Walker of the Birmingham Mail covers this petition here, with an angry quote from Labour’s Steve McCabe, who thinks that Parliament should not ‘dignify the views of total bigots with a Commons debate’. But Tory MP Paul Scully has agreed to be the lead MP for the petition, which at first glance may make him look as though he is supporting these ludicrous claims about immigrants trying to turn Britain into a Muslim country and desecrating graves.