Donald Trump hit with angry backlash from Brits after he tweets UK crime rise is because of 'radical Islamic terror'

Donald Trump has been labelled a liar and fear monger over his tweet about crime in the UK
Reuters

Donald Trump sparked outrage across the UK today by attributing a 13 per cent crime rise to 'radical Islamic terror'.

He posted online: "Just out report: "United Kingdom crime rises 13% annually amid spread of Radical Islamic terror." Not good, we must keep America safe!"

His comments were met with an immediate backlash.

Crime in the UK did rise by 13 per cent, with the majority of offences including knife crime and sexual offences.

The Metropolitan Police had the sharpest jump, accounting for nearly half of the rise across England and Wales.

Youth violence, an indicator of gang activity, was one of the major crime areas that was on the rise in London.

The number of violent crimes rose from 1,033,719 cases the previous year to 1,229,260 cases this year.

There was also a 19% increase in the number of sexual offences recorded in England and Wales, up to 129,700 on the previous year, according to the official data from the Office of National Statistics.

Trump was criticised by hundreds of people online, mainly Brits.

One wrote: "Where on EARTH did he get the idea that 'radical Islamic terror' is behind the rise? I despair.

Another posted: "Wait. Are you saying their crime rate rise was due to Radical Islamic terror? Or are you lying and trying to make people think so?

A third called Trump an "irresponsible fear monger"

The message sparked swift condemnation from MPs, especially given the recent spate of shocking gun attacks in the US which has left scores of people dead.

In response to Donald Trump’s tweets on UK crime stats, Yvette Cooper MP said: “Hate crime in the UK has gone up by almost 30% and rubbish like this tweet from Donald Trump is designed to provoke even more of it.

"It is appalling that we have reached the point where inflammatory and ignorant statements from the President of the United States are now seen as normal. If we are to properly tackle hate crime and every other crime, we have to challenge this kind of nonsense.”

Hampstead and Kilburn Labour MP Tulip Siddiq said: "Every day I have to pinch myself to be sure I'm not imagining that this buffoon is still in the White House. My advice to President Trump, who seems to have a special talent of giving his lazy opinion on situations which he knows nothing about, would be to delete his account and step away from social media for good.”

Former armed forces minister Sir Nicholas Soames replied with the hashtag: “#thenfixguncontrolyoudafttwerp”.

Ilford South Labour MP Mike Gapes, former chairman of the Commons foreign affairs committee, tweeted back: “Dear President Trump. It appears that some stupid fool has hacked into your twitter account.”

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