No.10 condemns Trump’s tweets
DOWNING Street has said Donald Trump was “wrong” to share anti-Muslim videos posted online by the deputy leader of farright group Britain First.
The US president retweeted to his 43.6 million followers three posts by Jayda Fransen yesterday, including unverified footage purporting to show Muslims committing crimes.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Britain First sought to divide communities through its use of “hateful narratives which peddle lies and stoke tensions”.
“It is wrong for the president to have done this,” the spokesman said.
The posts shared by the president included unverified videos titled “Muslim migrant beats up Dutch boy on crutches!” and “Muslim Destroys a Statue of Virgin Mary!”
Fransen, 31, who was convicted last November of religiously aggravated harassment for hurling abuse at a Muslim woman in a hijab, appeared to celebrate the president’s actions, tweeting moments later “GOD BLESS YOU TRUMP”.
The PM’s spokesman said that Britain First “cause anxiety to law-abiding people”, adding that: “British people overwhelmingly reject the prejudiced rhetoric of the far-right which is the antithesis of the values that this country represents – decency tolerance and respect.”
The spokesman made clear that the controversial invitation for the president to make a state visit to the UK, made when Theresa May met Mr Trump in Washington in January, still stood.
“The invitation for a state visit has been extended and accepted. Further details will be announced in due course,” he said.
The widower of MP Jo Cox, who was murdered by right-wing extremist Thomas Mair as he shouted “Britain first”, was among those who condemned the posts.
Brendan Cox tweeted: “Trump has legitimised the far right in his own country, now he’s trying to do it in ours. Spreading hatred has consequences & the President should be ashamed of himself.”
Fransen, from Penge, south-east London, was fined £2,000 at Luton and South Bedfordshire Magistrates’ Court in November 2016 for wearing a political uniform and shouting at Sumayyah Sharpe during a “Christian patrol” of Bury Park in Luton on January 23.
She is on bail facing trial over four charges of causing religiously aggravated harassment in Canterbury and will also appear in court in Northern Ireland next month charged with using threatening and abusive language in Belfast on August 6.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Mr Trump had been seeking to “promote strong borders and strong national security”.
Pressed on whether the president had a responsibility to verify the content of the postings, Ms Sanders said: “Whether it’s a real video, the threat is real.”