London Mayor Sadiq Khan has responded to Donald Trump Jr’s harsh criticism of him following yesterday’s terror attack in Westminster – in the best possible way.
Trump Jr, the President’s eldest child, sparked anger among Londoners after he used the devastating events to make a political point on Twitter. He shared a six-month-old article in which Khan is quoted as saying terror attacks were “part and parcel of living in a big city”.
Trump Jr added: “You have to be kidding me?!”
It's not clear whether Trump Jr was aware the article had no link to Wednesday's attack outside the Houses of Parliament.
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You have to be kidding me?!: Terror attacks are part of living in big city, says London Mayor Sadiq Khan https://t.co/uSm2pwRTjO
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) March 22, 2017
When asked about Trump Jr’s comment during an interview this morning on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Khan had the perfect response: “I’m not going to respond to tweets by Donald Trump,” he said.
“What I will say about this is the threat level in London and our country remains the same: it’s severe. That means according to experts an attack is highly likely.
“The commissioner who just retired said last year that as far as an attack was concerned it’s a question of when, not if. Thankfully the police and the security services and the emergency services practise for such incidents. One I’m afraid has happened yesterday. The response from the police and the emergency services has been superb.”
Khan was then asked to clarify his comment that terror attacks should be accepted as “part and parcel” of living in London. He said: “We must never accept terrorists being successful, we must never accept that terrorists can destroy our life or destroy the way we lead our lives,” reported The Independent.
“We must never accept a situation where people try and divide Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs from each other or from those who are not members of organised faith," he added. "We must never accept a situation where people incite hatred against people because of the faith they belong to.”
Khan has organised a vigil at Trafalgar Square at 6pm today to commemorate the victims of yesterday's attack, which killed four people and injured dozens more.
Join us in Trafalgar Square at 6pm to remember the victims of yesterday’s attack and stand against terrorism. https://t.co/qREts6gRqh pic.twitter.com/kSTYJABa8W
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) March 23, 2017