Guns aren’t the answer to knife crime, hospital tells president

A BRITISH hospital has condemned as “ridiculous” Donald Trump’s suggestion that gun ownership could help combat the menace of knife crime which led to a London emergency ward being compared to a “war zone”.

The US president told the National Rifle Association convention in Dallas, Texas, that because the UK had “unbelievably tough gun laws” there was “blood all over the floors” from knife attacks in one of the capital’s hospitals.

It appears Mr Trump was referring to comments made by Martin Griffiths, a surgeon at the Royal London Hospital, who said last month that a ward resembled an Afghan war zone due to the number of victims of knife attacks.

The surgeon wrote on Twitter yesterday that the president had missed the point, adding that he was “happy to invite Mr Trump to my prestigious hospital … to discuss our successes in violence reduction in London”.

Professor Karim Brohi, trauma surgeon at the Royal London Hospital and director of London’s major trauma system, said the medical staff were proud of the “excellent trauma care” they provided, adding that it was “ridiculous” for the president to suggest guns could be part of the solution to knife crime.

Mr Trump and Theresa May held a telephone conversation but no mention was made about his controversial knife crime comments.

The pair were said to have discussed trade with China, the summit with North Korea and the Iran nuclear deal. They also spoke about the president’s trip to the UK in the summer.