Trump targets Sadiq, uses UK hit to push travel ban
US President Donald Trump slammed London’s Pakistani-origin mayor Sadiq Khan on Sunday, saying it was not the time to be “politically correct”, and touted his controversial Muslim travel ban in view of the London Bridge terror attacks. “We must stop being politically correct and get down to the business of security for our people. If we don’t get smart it will only get worse,” Mr Trump said.
In a series of earlymorning tweets, Mr We must stop being politically correct and get down to the business of security for our people. If we don’t get smart it will only get worse.
— Donald Trump, US Prez
Trump lashed out at Mr Khan, who reportedly suggested there was no reason for alarm after three attackers drove a van into crowds on London Bridge and then went on a stabbing rampage in nearby Borough Market.
“At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is ‘no reason to be alarmed!’” he said. He was referring to a statement by Mr Khan which said he was “grieving” for the victims and insisted that terrorists “would not win.” But the statement available on the official website of the London mayor did not use the phrase “there’s no reason to be alarmed,” which Mr Trump referred to.
As three assailants sought to strike fear at the heart of the British capital on Saturday night, some Londoners showed incredible courage and fought back.
Taxi driver Chris was on London Bridge as the attackers smashed their van into pedestrians around before sprinting, armed with knives, towards nearby bars packed with revellers. “I saw a young girl being stabbed in the chest,’ he told LBC radio recalling how the three “went randomly along Borough High Street stabbing people”.
“I said to the guy in my cab I was going to try to hit him, I was going to ram him. I turned around and tried, but he sidestepped me,” he added.
The attack took place a few minutes after the end of the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Juventus and many fans were watching the football on television in some of the trendy area’s bars. Gerard Vowls, 47, was heading home after watching the football at the Ship Pub in Borough when he saw a woman being stabbed 10 to 15 times.
“She was going, ‘Help me, help me’ and I couldn’t do nothing,” he told The Guardian newspaper. Distraught, he followed the attackers to Borough Market and started throwing whatever he could find at them including chairs, glasses and bottles. “I know it was a silly thing to do but I was trying to save people’s lives,” he said. The attackers chased him after he managed to hit one of them in the back with a chair. “I knew if I slipped over, I’d be a dead man, I’d be killed there and then,” he added.
Many took to social media opening up their homes to stranded people while taxi drivers ferried people out of the London Bridge area as quickly as possible. Dozens of people were also seen sleeping on the floor in the reception area of the Ibis hotel in nearby Blackfriars. “This is our city,” mayor Sadiq Khan said.
They are connected in one important sense. They are bound together by the evil ideology of Islamist extremism
— Theresa May, British PM
We are united across borders in horror and mourning, but also in determination — Angela Merkel, German Chancellor In the face of this new tragedy, France is more than ever at Britain’s side — Emmanuel Macron, French President Canadians stand united in sending our love and support to our friends in London
— Justin Trudeau, Canadian PM