Patel: Trump to blame for siege

DONALD TRUMP’S rhetoric in disputing his loss of the US presidential election led directly to “terrible” violence at the US Capitol, and he should have condemned the scenes in Washington, home secretary Priti Patel said last Thursday (7).

Hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol building last Wednesday (6) in a stunning bid to overturn his election defeat, and delaying the certification of Democratic president-elect Joe Biden’s victory for hours.

Patel said the events were “terrible beyond words”, and Trump had not only failed to de-escalate the violence but had fuelled it.

“His comments directly led to the violence, and so far, he has failed to condemn that violence and that is completely wrong,” Patel, who is in charge of security and policing in Britain, told the BBC.

Prime minister Boris Johnson described the scenes in Washington, DC, as “disgraceful” last week.

The interventions from Johnson and Patel mark a striking change of tone from the government of Britain, a close US ally, towards Trump. Previously, Johnson and his ministers have consistently sought to avoid criticising the American president.