SHADOW HOME secretary Diane Abbott has called out US president Donald Trump, saying that he targeted Londn mayor Sadiq Khan due to his faith.
Abbott made the comments during a debate in the House of Commons on Monday (Jun 18), whilst discussing violent crime in London.
She raised the issue of Trump’s Twitter comments, where he criticised Khan directly.
She said: “In relation to the president of the United States implying that the mayor of London is responsible for the rise in violent crime, the mayor must be held to account like any other politician.”
“But in 30 years in Parliament, I’ve never heard a president of the US reference a London mayor at all. It’s hard to escape the conclusion that President Trump may be singling out Sadiq Khan because he is of the Muslim faith.
“Does the Minister accept that if that were true, many people would find it distasteful?”
Home Office minister Victoria Atkins replied: “I’m going to decline to respond about President Trump for the simple fact that I’m sure… we all have at the forefront of our minds today the four families who have been affected in the most terrible way this weekend.
“I hope she will forgive me if I don’t dive into the political pool on today of all days.”
The Mayor of London shared his thoughts on Trump during an appearance on the BBC on Monday (Jun 17). He said: “It’s remarkable that you’ve got the president of the USA amplifying the tweets of a far-right activist, amplifying a racist tweet.
“That’s one of my concerns about Donald Trump, he’s now seen as a poster boy for racists around the world, whether you’re a racist in this country, whether you’re a racist in Hungary, a racist in Italy, or a racist in France.”
Trump and Khan have traded many comments over the years. In 2015, when they were both running for office, Khan criticised the then presidential candidtae’s plan to ban Muslim’s from entering the United States.
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