‘We’re not afraid to say it was WRONG!’ May attacks Donald Trump over Britain First tweet

The Prime Minister, speaking in Amman today, said Donald Trump was wrong to retweet material from far-right group Britain First. 

In her first personal response to the furore, at a press conference during a visit to Jordan, Mrs May said the UK and US worked closely together in the fight against terrorism as she then went on to condemn Mr Trump’s actions online.

Mrs May said: “Britain First is a hateful organisation, that spreads division and mistrust among our communities. It stands in opposition to the values we share, of respect, tolerance and common decency

“On the issue of radical Islam, British Muslims are peaceful people who have been victims of acts of terror

“There are those who act in the name of Islam but it is not in the name of Islam.”

And she said the UK was “not afraid to say when the United States has got it wrong.”

Mrs May also said that she had made it clear that “retweeting from Britain First was the wrong thing to do”.

She said: “I’ve been clear about my position. I’m not a prolific tweeter myself and I don’t spend all my time looking at people’s tweets but when I feel there is a response I give it.”

Asked if she felt Mr Trump was an “enabler of far-right groups”, she refused to answer but instead insisted Britain takes “seriously the threat these groups pose in terms of terrorist threat and the necessity of dealing with extremist material.”

But she also refused to cancel the state visit, saying the invitation had been extended and accepted and that would not change.

And May says she wants the US-UK relationship to continue – adding it is good for the world.

Mrs May is fully focused on tackling extremism, her spokesman said on Thursday, after Mr Trump lashed out – telling the PM to focus on “destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism”.

Asked if Mrs May was focused on tackling extremism: her spokesman said: “Yes.”

“The overwhelming majority of Muslims in this country are law-abiding people who abhor extremism in all its forms. 

“The Prime Minister has been clear … that where Islamist extremism does exist it should be tackled head-on. 

“We are working hard to do that both at home and internationally and … with our US partners.”

The US President’s late-night tweet prompted widespread calls for the cancellation of his planned state visit to the UK.

It came after Number 10 said he was “wrong” to circulate videos by the far right Britain First group among his millions of followers on Twitter.

A string of MPs demanded the cancellation of Mr Trump’s visit in an urgent debate in the House of Commons on Thursday, with some saying the Government should demand that the president apologise or delete his Twitter account.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd made clear that Mr Trump’s trip had not been cancelled, telling MPs: “The invitation for the visit has been extended and accepted but the dates and precise arrangements have yet to be agreed.”

Mrs Mays comments today come during her three-day tour, in which she has said she wants to bolster partnerships and co-operation between the UK and the Middle Eastern states.

Arriving in Jordan last night, the Prime Minister declared she was “determined to forge a bold, confident future for ourselves” after Britain leaves the European Union.

And she stressed it was vital to “build stronger partnerships” with countries across the Middle East to help protect the “security” of millions of Brits at home and abroad.

But her comments come as the UK-USA special relationship – and any security cooperation with it – has gone down the pan after Mrs May condemned Donald Trump for sharing inflammatory material posted by far-right group Britain First on his official Twitter account.

The Prime Minister’s deputy spokesman said: “This visit demonstrates that, as the UK leaves the EU we are determined to forge a bold, confident future for ourselves in the world.

“We must look at the challenges that we and future generations will face and build stronger partnerships with countries that will be vital to our security.

“It is clearly in the UK’s security interests to support Jordan and Saudi Arabia in tackling regional challenges to create a more stable region, and in delivering their ambitious reform programmes to ensure their own stability.

“Jordan’s continued security, stability and economic sustainability are central to a peaceful future in the Middle East and are clearly in our mutual national interests.”

Mrs May has also set out Britain’s continued support for Saudi Arabia’s social reform programme – something she announced she was backing during her last visit in April.