Hunt rebuked by rivals for agreeing ‘150 per cent’ with Trump on Mayor
JEREMY HUNT has become embroiled in a row over Donald Trump’s latest attack on Sadiq Khan over knife crime in London by stating that he agreed “150 per cent” with the US president.
The Foreign Secretary was last night accused by Conservative MPS of being in thrall to Mr Trump, after he refused to distance himself from his claims that the Mayor of London was a “national disgrace who is destroying the city”.
Mr Hunt was asked for his opinion after Mr Trump shared a tweet by the Right-wing commentator Katie Hopkins, accusing Mr Khan of turning the capital into “stab city” and “Londonistan”.
While four of the five other leadership candidates distanced themselves from the president’s remarks, Mr Hunt told a parliamentary leadership hustings he agreed with the thrust of the attacks on the Mayor.
“President Trump has his own style and I wouldn’t use those words myself,” he added. “But the sentiment is enormous disappointment that we have a Mayor of London who has completely failed to tackle knife crime and has spent more time on politics than the actual business of making Londoners safer, and in that I 150 per cent agree with the president.”
Hours later, Baroness Warsi, the former Conservative Party chairman, said she had challenged Mr Hunt over his remarks and had been reassured that he “abhors Katie Hopkins, her disgusting views and everything she stands for”.
However, Mr Hunt’s comments were seized upon by rival leadership camps, with Rory Stewart, the International Development Secretary, demanding an urgent clarification.
Mr Gove said that it was “always a mistake to retweet anything Katie Hopkins tweets”, while Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary described Mr Trump’s comments as “unbecoming” and urged him to focus on his country’s own issues with serious crime.
Dominic Raab, the former Brexit secretary, added: “I don’t think it’s particularly helpful or constructive. I’m proud to have a Muslim mayor of London and I’m proud to have a Muslim home secretary.”
Asked whether Boris Johnson was to blame for the continued incarceration of Nazanin Zaghari-ratcliffe in Iran, Mr Hunt said he would not comment but stated: “Everyone makes mistakes”.
It came as Mr Gove attempted to get back on the front foot by stoking his long-running rivalry with Boris Johnson.
During the first of two leadership hustings yesterday, the Environment Secretary said: “Boris could be a good prime minister – but I could be a better one.” He compared Mr Johnson to Hamlet, claiming that like the Danish prince, the front-runner to become the next prime minister was by no means guaranteed a coronation.
He also mocked his former Vote Leave ally over his refusal to subject himself to greater media scrutiny, telling reporters that a friend had likened the situation to the Shakespearean tragedy – but “without the prince”.
“Of course, we all remember that at the end of Hamlet he isn’t the king ... it’s Fortinbras,” he continued.
Meanwhile, Mr Javid, who is struggling in second to last place with 23 backers, attempted to distinguish himself from the other candidates by highlighting his modest upbringing and education.
Despite being Home Secretary for more than a year, Mr Javid said he was not as confident at public speaking because he had not received the same “elite” grounding as his rivals, who all attended Oxford University.
Following Mr Javid at the hustings, Mr Raab faced a bruising round of questioning over his previous criticism of feminists, as he repeated his view that men should “pick up the slack” with housework.
Asked whether he would go further than David Cameron in making half of his Cabinet female, he argued that doing so would be to set “arbitrary quotas” and that he would rather preside over a “meritocratic process”.