Met Police chief ramps up London’s feud with Donald Trump as he blasts US President’s ‘nonsense’ claims about ‘no-go’ areas within the capital
Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, today hit back at ‘nonsense’ claims about London following Donald Trump‘s recent rants about the UK’s capital.
The Scotland Yard boss said it was ‘completely false’ to claim there are ‘no-go areas’ in London, adding it is ‘ridiculous’ for Americans to suggest Britain is a violent place.
He insisted London is ‘safe’ and called on ‘proud Londoners’ to ‘fight back’ against those who trying to ‘rubbish’ their city.
Sir Mark’s outburst came as he was quizzed on a radio phone-in show about Mr Trump’s most recent criticism of London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan this week.
The US President branded the Labour politician a ‘horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor’ who had done a ‘terrible job’, adding London is now ‘a different place’.
Mr Trump’s latest tirade came after he last month claimed people were being ‘stabbed in the ass or worse’ in London.
He also claimed there were areas of the UK capital ‘where the police don’t even want to go anywhere near’ and repeated his allegation that the city has Sharia law.
Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, has hit back at ‘nonsense’ claims about London following Donald Trump’s recent rants about the UK’s capital
Sir Mark’s outburst came as he was quizzed on a radio phone-in show about Mr Trump’s most recent criticism of London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan this week
Asked about those comments on LBC, Sir Mark said: ‘In terms of some of the comments that come from America about London, they’re complete nonsense.’
The Met Police chief added: ‘There’s no no-go areas, that’s completely false. How anybody in America can suggest the UK is violent is completely ridiculous.
‘The homicide rate in London is lower than every single US state. It’s lower than all their big cities.
‘The murder rate in New York last time I looked is about three or four times higher than it is in London per capita.
‘The homicide rate in London is lower than it is in Toronto, it’s lower than Paris, it’s lower than Brussels, it’s lower than Berlin.
‘This is a safe city. I’m not going to pretend it’s perfect. It’s a safe city.’
Sir Mark lashed out at ‘this trend of trying to rubbish London, some of which is driven by politics’.
‘We who are proud Londoners, need to fight back about it,’ he added. ‘Because there’s lots to be proud of about London.
‘Clearly there are some crime issues that we’re tackling and it’s not perfect. But I’m proud of the progress we’re making in reducing crime.’
Mr Trump launched his latest assault on London and Sir Sadiq in an interview with Politico this week.
‘If you take a look at London, you have a mayor named Khan. He’s a horrible mayor,’ the US President said.
‘He’s an incompetent mayor, but he’s a horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor. I think he’s done a terrible job. London’s a different place. I love London. And I hate to see it happen.’
It came a month after Mr Trump had used an interview with GB News to make unevidenced claims about the UK capital, which were left unchallenged by the broadcaster.
He said: ‘You have areas in London. And you have this in Paris, too, where the police don’t even want to go anywhere near those areas.
‘You have Sharia law where they don’t even want to obey the laws of, you know, your country or France or other countries, and you have much worse conditions than even that. It’s crazy what’s going on with Europe.’
Sir Sadiq said this week: ‘I think the one part that President Trump has got right is that London is becoming a different place. We are the greatest city in the world.
‘I suspect that’s one of the reasons why we have record numbers of Americans coming here to holiday, coming here to live, coming here to invest, or coming here to study.
‘I literally have no idea why President Trump is so obsessed with this mayor of London. I’m not sure what he’s got against a liberal, progressive, diverse, successful city like London.’
