Cancel Donald Trump's state visit, says Sadiq Khan

London Mayor says UK should not 'roll out the red carpet' for a president whose policies 'go against everything we stand for'

Sadiq Khan and Amber Rudd
London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Home Secretary Amber Rudd at a vigil for the victims of the London Bridge terror attacks
(Image credit: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has called for Donald Trump's state visit to the UK to be cancelled over the US President's tweets following the London Bridge terror attack.

Speaking to Channel 4 News, he said: "I don't think we should roll out the red carpet to the president of the USA in the circumstances where his policies go against everything we stand for.

"When you have a special relationship it is no different from when you have got a close mate. You stand with them in times of adversity but you call them out when they are wrong. There are many things about which Donald Trump is wrong."

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Khan spoke out after the US President attacked his response to the terror strikes on Saturday.

On Sunday, Trump tweeted that Khan had said there was no reason for Londoners to be alarmed by terrorism.

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However, Khan had actually said: "Londoners will see an increased police presence today and over the course of the next few days. There's no reason to be alarmed."

When Trump was criticised for taking the Mayor's words out of context, he sent a second tweet saying Khan had come up with a "pathetic excuse" which "mainstream media" was "working hard to sell".

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Several commentators have accused Trump of attacking Khan because he is the first Muslim mayor of a European capital, contrasting the tweets with his support for Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Manchester, after the Manchester Arena bombing.

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White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the idea was "utterly ridiculous" and denied Trump had taken Khan's words out of context.

Trump will visit the UK in October following his invitation from Prime Minister Theresa May.

The trip was re-scheduled from June for fear it would provoke mass protests, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The Independent reports that Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said he saw "no reason" to withdraw the invitation following Trump tweets.

Khan previously called for the visit to be cancelled following Trump's travel ban on mainly Muslim countries in January.

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