Plea to relatives of floods victims
THERESA MAY has criticised Donald Trump for not singling out white supremacists for criticism following deadly unrest in Virginia, insisting there is “no equivalence” between fascists and their opponents.
The Prime Minister spoke out after the US President failed to condemn far-right demonstrators outright for violence in Charlottesville in which a woman was killed.
Mr Trump claimed “there is blame on all sides”, apparently equating the actions of far-right demonstrators with those protesting against them.
But Mrs May said: “I see no equivalence between those who propound fascist views and those who oppose them.
“I think it is important for all those in positions of responsibility to condemn far-right views wherever we hear them.”
Asked about Mr Trump’s comments in the wake of the violence, Mrs May told reporters in Portsmouth: “As I made clear at the weekend following the horrendous scenes that we saw in Charlottesville, I absolutely abhor the racism, the hatred and the violence that we have seen portrayed by these groups.
“The United Kingdom has taken action to ban far-right groups here, we have proscribed certain far- right groups here in the United Kingdom. “And there is no equivalence.” Mrs May spoke after senior Tories condemned Mr Trump, whose comments have also provoked criticism from both Republicans and Democrats in the US.
Communities Secretary Sajid Javid tweeted: “Neo-Nazis: bad, Anti-Nazis: good, I learned that as a child. It was pretty obvious.”
Scottish Conservatives leader Ruth Davidson posted: “The President of the United States has just turned his face to the world to defend Nazis, fascists and racists. For shame.”
Prisons Minister Sam Gyimah tweeted: “The ‘leader of the free world’ loses moral authority when he cannot call fascism by its name.”
Violence erupted in Charlottesville on Saturday after a group of far-right extremists gathered to protest against a decision to remove a statue of a Confederate general.
Heather Heyer, 32, later died when a car was driven into crowds as anti-fascist demonstrators clashed with the white supremacists.
Mr Trump faced heavy criticism in the immediate wake of the unrest after he said there was blame on “many sides”.
He took two days to condemn the actions of the far-right groups in particular, eventually branding the KKK, neo-Nazis and white supremacists “repugnant to everything that we hold dear as Americans”, in a statement on Monday.
However, during a turbulent press conference at his Manhattan residence on Tuesday, the president appeared to have reverted to his previous position.
He acknowledged there were “some very bad people” among the statue protesters, but added: “You also had people that were very fine people, on both sides.” In the hours after the comments the hashtag #ImpeachTrump trended worldwide on Twitter, while MPs from all sides criticised the president over his renewed stance.
Meanwhile, several Labour MPs and Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable urged Mrs May to tear up her offer to Mr Trump of a state visit to Britain.
The country’s government has urged family members to identify loved ones’ remains following mudslides and floods in the capital which killed more than 300 people.
President Ernest Bai Koroma’s office has asked relatives to come to Freetown’s overwhelmed mortuary, before all unidentified corpses are given a “dignified burial”.
The death toll is expected to rise after mudslides and floodwaters in and around the capital this week killed hundreds of people.