‘CANCEL THE STATE VISIT’
London Mayor Sadiq Khan sparks outrage over call to ban Donald Trump’s state visit over their terror attack Twitter spat
Mayor of London said it is 'inappropriate for us to be rolling out red carpet' for the US President
SADIQ Khan is calling for Donald Trump state visit to be cancelled as he hits back over London Bridge terror attack tweets.
The Mayor of London said the US President is so wrong about so “many things” and said it is “inappropriate for us to be rolling out the red carpet” for him.
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He said after Mr Trump tried to introduce a travel ban from several mainly-Muslim countries he believed the invitation should be rescinded, and this morning he added: “Nothing has changed my mind.”
Asked if he was saying the leader of the free world was not welcome Mr Khan told BBC Breakfast: “Look, of course we should have cordial relations with our closest ally, of course we have a special relationship.
“But one of the things about a special relationship – it’s like having best mates, you stand should to shoulder with them in times of adversity.
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“But you call them out when they’re wrong, and there are so many things Donald Trump is wrong about, and in those circumstances I'm not in favour of a state visit."
The spat began when Mr Trump tweeted on Sunday, hours after the deadly attack in the heart of the capital: "At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is 'no reason to be alarmed!'"
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He was immediately pilloried for taking Mr Khan's words out of context from the full statement he delivered in response to the killings.
What he actually said was: “Londoners will see an increased police presence today and over the course of the next few days. There’s no reason to be alarmed.”
Later that afternoon as spokesman for the London Mayor said he had “more important things to do than respond to Donald Trump’s ill-informed tweet that deliberately takes out of context his remarks”.
But that only inflamed the row between the pair, with Mr Trump doubling down on his criticism on social media..
The President then tweeted: "Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his 'no reason to be alarmed' statement.
"MSM is working hard to sell it!"
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Speaking on Good Morning Britain today Mr Khan dismissed the tweets, saying: “We’re not kids in a playground, he’s the President of the US.
“I’m too busy to respond to his tweets, isn’t he busy?”
Presenter Piers Morgan put to him that the public feud doesn’t help anyone, Mr Khan responded: “I agree, it takes two to tango. I’m not tangoing with this guy, I’ve got better things to do.
“From Saturday until now my focus has been dealing with the aftermath of the horrific attack.
“Working with the police, security services, the government, that’s why I’ve not responded to the tweets from Donald Trump.”
Theresa May has appeared unwilling to be drawn into the row, simply praising Mr Khan’s response to the attack.
But she refused to explicitly comment on the US president’s intervention, after being asked if Mr Trump had been wrong to target him, she told reporters on Monday: “Sadiq Khan is doing a good job and it’s wrong to say anything else – he’s doing a good job.”
And Boris Johnson also refused to condemn the President saying he did not want "to interpose" himself "into any controversy between the mayor of London and Donald Trump".
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The Foreign Secretary and former London Mayor also wouldn't be drawn on whether a planned state visit by the president should go ahead.
But he told BBC Breakfast: “It's entirely right that Sadiq - as the mayor of the greatest city on earth - should reassure his public and his citizens about the presence of armed police on the streets.
“He was making a very sensible point and he was entirely right to do so."
After Mrs May travelled to Washington to meet Mr Trump at the start of the year it was announced an invitation for the President to come to the UK has been offered and accepted.
The trip, in which he and his wife Melania will be hosted by the Queen, is due to take place in October this year.
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