Number Ten responded swiftly to Trump’s retweets of anti-Muslim material from extremist Britain First:
“Britain First seeks to divide communities by their use of hateful narratives that peddle lies and stoke tensions. They cause anxiety to law-abiding people.
“British people overwhelmingly reject the prejudiced rhetoric of the far right which is the antithesis of the values this country represents, decency, tolerance and respect. It is wrong for the president to have done this.”
However White House spokeswoman, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, seems either oblivious or indifferent to the problem. Rather than apologising for the error she sought to justify Trump:
“The threat is real,” Ms. Sanders said. “The threat needs to be addressed. The threat has to be talked about, and that’s what the president is doing in bringing that up.”
Jayda Fransen, the deputy leader of Britain First whose account Trump retweeted, has been charged with employing “threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour” and is due to appear at Belfast Magistrates’ Court in December.
