MPs attack Donald Trump over ‘ignorant’ tweet on UK crime statistics

The US President was referencing data from the Office for National Statistics, which revealed a 13% rise compared to last year.

Figures released yesterday show crimes classed as violent were up 19% in England and Wales, although much of the rise is attributed to better recording. 

However the president sparked condemnation after he tweeted this morning that UK crime rises by 13% “annually” and “amid Radical Islamic terror [sic]”.

His tweet provoked a reaction from MPs, with Yvette Cooper branding the comments “inflammatory and ignorant”.

The Labour MP and former minister 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.”

Another former Labour minister, Hilary Benn, told BBC News: "I am sure we would all appreciate it if we could see a reduction in the number of tweets like this from the president of the United States."

The party’s deputy leader Tom Watson suggested his comments amounted to a “hate crime”, while Labour backbencher David Lammy accused the president of “Islamophobia”, while urging Theresa May to condemn his words.

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Jo Swinson also responded to the president's tweet, accusing him of "misleading and spreading fear".

Labour MP Anna Turley and Green Party MP Caroline Lucas also both called on Theresa May to "publicly condemn" President Trump.

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