LONDON — Prime Minister Keir Starmer has dismissed Donald Trump’s claim that Sadiq Khan wants to introduce Sharia law in London as “ridiculous.”
On Thursday, the prime minister, who has maintained good relations with the U.S. president despite their ideological differences, brushed off Trump’s remarks about the Labour London mayor at the U.N. General Assembly earlier this week.
“I look at London, where you have a terrible mayor, terrible terrible mayor, and it’s been so changed, so changed,” Trump told leaders Tuesday. “Now they want to go to sharia law, but you’re in a different country.”
Pressed on the president’s comments, Starmer admitted this was an area where they do not agree.
“As you saw from the state visit last week, there’s lots that the president and I agree on. And we work together on,” he told ITV London. “There’s a few things we disagree about. This is one of them.
“The idea of the introduction of Sharia law is nonsense. And Sadiq Khan is a very good man and actually driving down serious crime.” Starmer also called Trump’s comments “ridiculous.”
Asked whether he would challenge Trump on his remarks, the PM said: “We have a frank conversation about many, many things. But I want to express my support for our mayor.”
Khan, London’s first Muslim mayor, branded Trump racist, sexist, misogynistic and Islamophobic. But Starmer would “not get drawn into a war of words” about whether he agreed, insisting “my team are working with his team the whole time.”
The PM also told BBC South East Trump was “not right about” European countries “going to hell” because of immigration levels.
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