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UK should not be rolling red carpet out for Trump – Corbyn

The Labour leader also said the US president’s criticism of London Mayor Sadiq Khan was completely unacceptable.

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Britain should not be “rolling out the red carpet” for Donald Trump, Jeremy Corbyn said on day two of the US president’s controversial visit.

The Labour leader said Mr Trump’s “strange” backing of recently-resigned foreign secretary Boris Johnson as prime minister material was “not his business”.

Mr Corbyn made the remarks in his first sit-down interview since the president touched down.

Speaking at Islington Town Hall, the Labour leader said: “Whatever the decision the Queen decides to take about whether to invite him to tea or not and what advice the Prime Minister gives on that is between them, I don’t know what went on.

“But personally I don’t think we should have been rolling out the red carpet for Donald Trump.

“We should be having meetings with the US government, the administration, as we always should, as we should with every other government in the world.

“We have to relate to other governments, but you’ve got to be clear what you’re doing.

“Are we rolling out the red carpet uncritically or saying, hang on, there are issues where we fundamentally disagree?”

Mr Corbyn went on: “It’s a very strange thing to do, to come on a visit to another country, to meet that country’s prime minister, and then announce that you would like to see as her successor a person who’s just resigned from her Government.

“Well, Johnson resigned for the reasons that he gave, that is Johnson’s business, that is Theresa May’s business to respond to, it really isn’t anything to do with Donald Trump.”

Responding to Mr Trump’s explosive interview with The Sun newspaper, Mr Corbyn said it was strange behaviour, behind which lay the serious question of future trade relations.

But he urged the British Government to prioritise the question of trade relations with Europe ahead of other countries, warning of “huge threats” to British industry if supply chains to the continent dry up.

Donald Trump protests
Tens of thousands of people have demonstrated against the US president (Gareth Fuller/PA)

The president used an interview to accuse Mr Khan of doing a “terrible job” following the wave of terrorism which hit the capital last year.

Mr Corbyn said: “It is quite without precedent and quite unreasonable the way Trump treats London and treats Sadiq Khan.”

He went on: “When a terrible incident happened … then surely you should recognise that the police and community have a job to do, and what Sadiq has sought to do is bring people together in unity to keep London together, just as happened after 7/7 all those years ago.

“The statement by Donald Trump condemning the mayor and then going on with a general condemnation of Muslim migration into the United States is not helpful, in fact is very dangerous to community relations, and I think the statement that Sadiq has made in response is very good.”

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