‘President’s a racist sex predator’

Thornberry slammed for astonishing radio outburst

LABOUR’S Emily Thornberry was criticised yesterday after she said Donald Trump did not ‘deserve the honour’ of a state visit.

The shadow foreign secretary launched a volley of insults, branding the US President a ‘sexual predator’ and a ‘racist’ who ‘grabbed women and boasted about it’.

She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘A state visit is an honour and we don’t think this president deserves an honour.

‘The truth is, he has tried to close borders with Muslim-majority countries, he is caging small Mexican children, he has grabbed women and boasted about it. He is a sexual predator, he is a racist and it’s right to say that. We need to think about when is it our country got so scared?’

Her comments came after London Mayor Sadiq Khan said a red carpet should not be rolled out for Mr Trump and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn snubbed a state dinner with him. Responding to her remarks, Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said: ‘It’s a bit rich given Labour’s track record on racism and its failure to deal with sexual predators in its own party.’

He then added: ‘Corbyn is a man who calls the IRA, Hamas and Hezbollah his friends – but refuses to have dinner with the democratically elected leader of the free world.’

Labour is currently embroiled in a crisis over the blocking of a suspension of John Prescott’s son, David, who has been accused of making ‘unwarranted sexual advances’ towards a young party MP.

Mr Prescott, whose father John was deputy prime minister under Tony Blair, denies all of the allegations.

Labour said it does not comment on individual staffing matters, but takes all complaints ‘extremely seriously’.