Theresa May condemns silencing of Big Ben - but not Donald Trump over neo-Nazi comments

Theresa May has refused to speak out directly against Trump (Picture: REUTERS/Ben Stansall/Pool)
Theresa May has refused to speak out directly against Trump (Picture: REUTERS/Ben Stansall/Pool)

Theresa May has refused to explicitly condemn Donald Trump for claiming that anti-fascists were partly to blame for violence in Charlottesville, but instead found time to speak out forcefully against Big Ben being silenced for four years.

As she appeared in Portsmouth to celebrate the arrival of HMS Queen Elizabeth, the Prime Minister spoke about the importance of condemning fascism in the wake of the President’s remarkable tirade on Tuesday night.

However, in carefully chosen words, the PM refused to criticise Mr Trump personally.

‘I see no equivalence between those who propound fascist views and those who oppose them,’ she said.

‘I think it is important for all those in positions of responsibility to condemn far right views wherever we hear them.’

It is not the first time Ms May has declined to stand against Mr Trump. In June, she refused to be critical of the President after he slammed Sadiq Khan’s response to the London Bridge terror attacks.

After widespread criticism, she was finally forced to concede Mr Trump was “wrong”.

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In January, Mrs May was reluctant to take the President to task over his numerous sexist, derogatory comments about women.

On this occasion, the meek response was in stark contrast to her opinions on the silencing of Big Ben, as she urged Commons speaker John Bercow to ‘urgently’ review the plans.

She said: “Of course we want to ensure people’s safety at work but it can’t be right for Big Ben to be silent for four years. And I hope the Speaker will look into this urgently, so we can continue to hear Big Ben for those four years.”

Tory MPs and right-wing newspapers have been vociferous in criticising moves to silence Big Ben because it might damage the hearing of those working at the site.

David Davis has said the decision was “mad” and workers at the site should just “get on with it”.

The PM’s response to Mr Trump response comes as senior Tory politicians continue to condemn Donald Trump.

Posting on Twitter, Communities Secretary Sajid Javid wrote: ‘Neo-Nazis: bad, Anti-Nazis: good, I learned that as a child. It was pretty obvious.’

His comments were backed by Prisons Secretary Sam Gyimah, who wrote: ‘The ‘leader of the free world’ loses moral authority when he cannot call fascism by its name.’

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson also posted an impassioned condemnation of Trump on Twitter.

‘The President of the United States has just turned his face to the world to defend Nazis, fascists and racists. For shame’, she wrote.