MEDIA WATCH: UK petition calls for ban on Trump
Donald Trump’s call to ban all Muslims from coming into America – and subsequent comments about policing in London have sparked a furious response in the UK.
From the London mayor to the country’s most famous children’s book author, people have rushed to condemn the Republican presidential candidate’s comments. Here are five of the best responses says The Week.
Boris Johnson
Trump caused further controversy when he claimed that parts of London are “so radicalised the police are afraid for their lives”.
London Mayor Boris Johnson [a potential future prime minister] dismissed his remarks as “complete and utter nonsense,” adding: “The only reason I wouldn’t go to some parts of New York is the real risk of meeting Donald Trump.”
Scotland Yard
The business mogul’s comments didn’t go down well with Scotland Yard either. “We would not normally dignify such comments with a response, however on this occasion we think it’s important to state to Londoners that Mr Trump could not be more wrong,” the Met Police said in a statement.”Any candidate for the presidential election in the United States of America is welcome to receive a briefing from the Met Police on the reality of policing London,” it added.
JK Rowling
Some of the strongest words came from the author, who branded Trump worse than Voldemort – the Harry Potter villain whose mission is to “purify” the wizarding race.
“How horrible,” Rowling tweeted with a news link to the story about Trump’s remarks, “Voldemort was nowhere near as bad.”
Humza Yousaf
The Glasgow MSP is among those urging the Home Secretary to consider banning Trump from the UK, warning that his “divisive and hateful” comments would turn America into an “apartheid-state.”
“We should not allow hate speech which seeks to divide communities unfettered access to the UK,” the SNP minister told the Glasgow Herald.
The public
Members of the British public were equally unimpressed with the property tycoon’s views, and a petition calling on the government to ban Trump from the country received more than 50,000 signatures in less than 24-hours.
“The UK has banned entry to many individuals for hate speech,” the petition reads. “The same principles should apply to everyone who wishes to enter the UK.
“If the UK is to continue applying the ‘unacceptable behavior’ criteria to those who wish to enter its borders, it must be fairly applied to the rich as well as poor, and the weak as well as powerful.”