Cabinet Minister Slams Sadiq Khan As Labour Splits Emerge Ahead Of Trump Return
A cabinet minister has slapped down Sadiq Khan after he suggested that the return of Donald Trump shows that “the spectre of a resurgent fascism haunts the West”.
Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the Treasury, said he and the government do not agree with the London mayor’s comments, which he made in an article in The Observer ahead of Trump’s inauguration as president on Monday.
Khan said: “We should be in no doubt, this is a perilous moment. The spectre of a resurgent fascism haunts the West.
“But in London, we’ve shown that we can defeat the politics of fear and division, with hope, unity and practical policies – such as free school meals, fares freezes, free skills training and social housebuilding that improve people’s lives.
“To ward off the far right, we must be unflinching in defence of our democracy and values, and in our determination to enhance the welfare and material conditions of our communities.”
On BBC1 this morning, Laura Kuenssberg told Jones: “This is something that your colleague Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, has said. He told the Observer newspaper he’s worried about fascism and the march of the Right.
“Now that is aimed pretty directly at Donald Trump. Is he wrong?”
Jones replied: “Yes, and I don’t agree with that. President-elect Trump won an enormous election victory in the United States. As a democracy we support democracy and the American people elected Donald Trump and the Republican Party and we respect that mandate.”
Kuenssberg said: “So why is a senior Labour figure out there making that case?”
The minister said: “Well he’s allowed to, but I don’t agree with it. I speak on behalf of the government and we don’t agree with it.
“President-elect Trump has an important mandate in the United States and we look forward to working with him in the interests of both our economies.”
Sadiq Khan has had a number of run-ins with Trump in the past.
In June, Trump said London the was “unrecognisable” after “Europe opened its doors to Jihad”.
But Khan hit back: “Today is an opportunity to show Donald Trump and my Tory opponent that London will always choose hope over fear and unity over division.”
Trump’s comments echoed those he made ahead of a visit to the UK in 2018, in which he personally attacked London mayor Khan over the London Bridge terror attack the previous year.
The then president said: “I think allowing millions and millions of people to come into Europe is very, very sad. I look at cities in Europe, and I can be specific if you’d like. You have a mayor who has done a terrible job in London. He has done a terrible job.”
In response, Khan told HuffPost UK: “I’m happy to meet President Trump and to explain to him, in a respectful, courteous manner, where I think he’s wrong on a number of issues.”