November 30, 2017
PM reiterates that US president was wrong to retweet far-right UK group’s videos, as opposition to state visit grows at Westminster
Theresa May has issued a carefully worded rebuke of Donald Trump for retweeting material from the “hateful” far-right group Britain First, but stressed the importance of the special relationship between the US and the UK.
Speaking in Amman, Jordan, on the final stop of a tour of the Middle East, the prime minister delivered a speech on foreign policy and Britain’s post-Brexit role in the region, but faced a series of questions about the US president’s controversial tweets.
She insisted she would “not be afraid” to criticise Trump and the US, and again condemned his decision to retweet videos from Britain First’s deputy leader, Jayda Fransen, purportedly showing violence committed by Muslims.
Britain’s ambassador to Washington, Sir Kim Darroch, confirmed on Thursday that he had personally raised the issue of the tweets with the White House on Wednesday. He tweeted: “British people overwhelmingly reject the prejudiced rhetoric of the far right, which seek to divide communities & erode decency, tolerance & respect.”
It was unclear whether Darroch’s conversation with the White House took place before or after Trump reignited the controversy with a tweet criticising May.
In response to a statement from Downing Street on Wednesday describing his actions as “wrong”, the president issued a tweet directed personally at the prime minister, saying: “Theresa May, don’t focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom. We are doing just fine!”
British government officials would like action to be taken as a result of the UK diplomats explaining the nature of Britain First to the White House, but stressed the UK was not in a position to demand that the president delete his tweet or apologise.
Officials were eager to underline how forcefully the UK had made its points to the White House, but clearly the UK does not want to get locked into a stand-off with the president.
May was careful to limit her criticism of Trump. She said: “The fact that we work together does not mean that we are afraid to say when we think that the United States have got it wrong and to be very clear with them. I am very clear that retweeting from Britain First was the wrong thing to do.
“Britain First is a hateful organisation. It seeks to spread division and mistrust in our communities. It stands in fundamental opposition to the values that we share as a nation – values of respect, tolerance and, dare I say it, common decency.”
In her first personal response to the furore, May stressed that the UK and US worked closely together in the fight against terrorism.
Asked about the US president’s comment that she should concentrate on radical Islam in the UK, May said she wanted to tackle the threat of extremism “from whatever source they come”.
The prime minister insisted the disagreement with Trump would not affect the UK’s “long-term special relationship”, but refused to discuss Trump’s planned state visit to the UK beyond saying that no date had been set.
Privately, ministers do not expect the visit to take place in the foreseeable future, because of concerns about the possibility of widespread protests.
Asked if Trump was, more widely, a supporter and enabler of far-right groups, May said: “I think that we must all take seriously the threat that far-right groups pose, both in terms of the terrorist threat that is posed by these groups, and the necessity of dealing with extremist material.”
In Westminster, MPs lined up to condemn the president’s behaviour and urge the government to formally cancel the state visit invitation, made by May when she became the first world leader to visit the Trump White House last year.
At an urgent debate on the issue in the House of Commons, the home secretary, Amber Rudd, told MPs that Trump was wrong to retweet propaganda from Britain First, but warned his critics to remember the “bigger picture” of the UK’s close relationship with the US.
“The importance of the relationship between our countries and the unparalleled sharing of intelligence between our countries is vital,” she said. “It has undoubtedly saved British lives. That is the big picture here, and I would urge people to remember that.”
Labour MP Paul Flynn said Trump should be “charged with inciting racial hatred” if he came to the UK, while fellow Labour MP Naz Shah suggested the “commander-in-tweet” should be placed on the list of those banned from entering the country for promoting “the hate-filled ideology of fascism”.
The shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott, said Trump’s online behaviour was “offensive to all decent British people”.