Donald Trump hits back at Theresa May after re-tweeting British far-Right group's anti-Muslim videos

Donald Trump hit back at Theresa May last night after she criticised the US president for re-tweeting three anti-Muslim videos posted by a British far-Right group.

Mr Trump wrote on Twitter: "Theresa, don’t focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom. We are doing just fine!"

He tweeted @theresamay, which is not the Twitter account of the Prime Minister, before correcting the mistake about 20 minutes later. 

"Wrong twitter handle. And that's just the start,” Carrie Symonds, director of communications at the Conservative Party, tweeted.

Mr Trump shared three posts by Jayda Fransen, deputy leader of Britain First, on Wednesday. The posts included unverified videos titled "Muslim Destroys a Statue of Virgin Mary!" and "Muslim migrant beats up Dutch boy on crutches!"

Mrs May said Mr Trump was "wrong" to share them with his followers. 

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said Britain First sought to divide communities through its use of "hateful narratives which peddle lies and stoke tensions".

"It is wrong for the president to have done this," the spokesman said.

However, the spokesman said plans for Mr Trump's state visit remain in place.

But Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, suggested the visit could be delayed because of the row, telling MPs that “dates have not yet been agreed”.

Responding to calls in the House of Commons on Thursday to cancel the visit, she said: “I can only repeat what I have said before, that the invitation has been extended and accepted and we have yet to make the arrangements.”

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Mr Trump was simply promoting border security and suggested that verifying the content was not a top concern.

"Whether it's a real video, the threat is real and that is what the president is talking about," she said.

Brendan Cox, the widower of MP Jo Cox, responded in a tweet, saying: "Trump has legitimised the far-Right in his own country, now he’s trying to do it in ours. Spreading hatred has consequences & the President should be ashamed of himself."

How British politicians responded

Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, tweeted:

Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi shared a letter he has written to Mr Trump to register his "strong discontent" at the retweets.

Referencing Mr Trump's planned state visit to the UK, Mr Zahawi said: "You are soon due to visit the United Kingdom. When you are here, I believe you would find enlightening the experience of visiting our beautiful cities like Coventry, Birmingham, Manchester and London."

He added: "They are so far removed from the stereotypes that the videos of Britain First try to portray."

Communities Secretary Sajid Javid also condemned Mr Trump for endorsing the views of the far-right group.

Justine Greening, the Education Secretary, said the UK and US should not allow the tweet to “undermine” the special relationship between the two countries.

She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think what I am interested in frankly is outcomes and in the end our relationship with the United States has a longevity to it that will succeed long after presidents come and go.

“I don’t agree with the tweet that President Trump has made but I have to say I also do not believe it should distract from the agenda we have domestically.

“I don’t believe it should detract from the close relationship that the UK has had for many, many years and will go on to have with America and the American people.

“This is a president that behaves unlike any other in the nature of the tweets that he puts out and I don’t believe that should be able to undermine an overall important relationship for our country.”  

Chuka Umunna, the Labour MP, called for the State Visit invitation to Mr Trump to be withdrawn immediately.

Mr Umunna told Sky News: "He is normalising hatred. If we don’t call this out we are going down a very dangerous road."

Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, said: "I hope our Government will condemn far-right retweets by Donald Trump. They are abhorrent, dangerous and a threat to our society. 

Mrs May is currently on a surprise visit to Baghdad. But her official spokesman said in a statement: 

"Britain First seeks to divide communities through their use of hateful narratives which peddle lies and stoke tensions.

"They cause anxiety to law-abiding people. British people overwhelmingly reject the prejudiced rhetoric of the far right, which is the antithesis of the values that this country represents – decency, tolerance and respect.

"It is wrong for the President to have done this."

Asked if the comments affected plans for President Trump's visit to the UK, expected to in January, the spokesman said: "The United States is one of our oldest and closest allies - an invitation for a state visit has been extended and accepted and further details will be announced in due course."

The spokesman declined to say if Britain wanted Mr Trump to take down the tweets about Britain First or whether Britain's displeasure with the comments will be communicated in any other way.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd did not immediately respond when Labour MPs raised the issue in Parliament.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable described Mr Trump as an "evil racist" and called on Mrs May to cancel his planned visit to the UK.

Writing on Twitter, Sir Vince said: "New Donald Trump insult to Theresa May. She must end humiliating dependence of Brexit Britain on goodwill of evil racist. Cancel visit."

Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, said Mrs May was "right to stand up to" Mr Trump. 

She said: “We will always have good working relationships with America. There are Americans who are our friends, we share many values with Americans, but we don’t share values with this man.

“It isn’t just on this issue, it is on a series of other ones.”

How the US reacted

In the US, the Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned Mr Trump's retweets.

Nihad Awad, the group's executive director, said: "He is clearly telling members of his base that they should hate Islam and Muslims. It amounts to incitement to violence against American Muslims."

However, Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke welcomed the videos, tweeting that Mr Trump was being "condemned for showing us what the fake news media WON'T. Thank God for Trump! That's why we love him!"

Fransen's videos appear to have come to Mr Trump's attention through Ann Coulter, the American conservative political commentator and best-selling author.

Coulter's account is one of only 45 followed by Mr Trump.

On Tuesday, Coulter had retweeted Fransen's video of a Dutch boy on crutches being attacked.

Profile | Who is Jayda Fransen?

After Mr Trump's retweet some Dutch media reported that the video of the boy on crutches being attacked was not what it seemed.

According to reports there the video was first posted on the internet in May but removed at the request of police. The incident was said to have taken place in Monnickendam. A 16-year-old was arrested but was not a migrant or a Muslim, but an "ordinary Dutchman," according to the Dutch reports.

Britain First has campaigned against what it calls the "Islamisation" of the UK since it was founded in 2011 by former members of the British National Party. The group has organised a number of public rallies in cities across the UK.

One of the videos Mr Trump shared was titled: "Islamist mob pushes teenage boy off roof and beats him to death!". The video, tweeted at 7.40am on Wednesday morning, shows a mob attacking a group of young men taking refuge on top of a water tower on a building before being thrown down and beaten.

The video first surfaced in 2013 and was recorded in Egypt, amid violence following the overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. The perpetrators were later sentenced to death.

Fransen appeared to celebrate Mr Trump sharing the videos. In a tweet from her account, which is verified as authentic by Twitter, she said in full caps. "The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has retweeted three of deputy leader Jayda Fransen's Twitter videos! Donald Trump himself has re-tweeted these videos and has around 44 million followers! God bless you Trump! God bless America!!

An identical message was also sent from the Britain First account, which is not verified, and the account of Paul Golding, the leader of Britain First, which is verified.

About | Britain First

A Muslim Council of Britain spokesperson said: "It is outrageous that the President of the USA is sharing anti-Muslim content from a renowned far-right extremist group in the UK.

"We hope our Prime Minister and Home Secretary will distance ourselves from Mr Trump and his comments, and will reiterate the government's abhorrence to all forms of extremism."

David Lammy, the MP for Tottenham, said he stood by Brendan Cox in light of Mr Trump's tweets. Thomas Mair, the man convicted of killing Jo Cox, shouted "Britain First" as he attacked the MP in June 2016. At his trial, no link was found between Mr Mair and the group Britain First.

Mr Lammy said: "Trump sharing Britain First. Let that sink in. The President of the United States is promoting a fascist, racist, extremist hate group... He is no ally or friend of ours. Trump, you are not welcome in my country and my city."

Did Mr Trump send the tweets himself?

Unlike some major politicians Mr Trump generally sends his own tweets, although there is one other person who has been known to be involved in composing tweets from his account.

Dan Scavino, the White House director of social media, has been described as the president's "mini-me" and managed his social media during last year's election campaign.

During the campaign Mr Scavino, a former general manager at one of Mr Trump's golf courses, was involved in the tweeting from Mr Trump's account of an anti-Hillary Clinton message that included a six-pointed star, which critics suggested was anti-Semitic. It was later deleted.

On that occasion Mr Scavino released a statement about why he selected the image, and why he then deleted it.

It is not known if Mr Scavino was involved in the selection of the latest videos, or if Mr Trump selected them himself.

Tracy Brabin, who succeeded the murdered Jo Cox as MP for Batley & Spen, said Mr Trump would not be welcome in the UK.

Ms Brabin told World At One: "These retweets are incredibly troubling. He has shown such lack of leadership over the months that he has been President of the US, but this just beggars belief, justifying this organisation."

She added: "Absolutely the Government must get involved in this. We are not holding this man's hand, we are challenging him and holding him to account."

Chris Bryant, the Laboutr MP, added: "He should be banned from this country not invited."

But Brexit minister Lord Callanan said Mr Trump may have not been aware of the "appalling" nature of Britain First. He said the incident showed the president should be "more careful" in his tweeting.

The Conservative peer told BBC Radio 4's World At One: "Britain First is an appalling organisation and there is no excusing the things they stand for.

"I can only assume that he has made a mistake and that he did not realise who Britain First were. Most people in the UK don't know who Britain First are.

"I'm not excusing it. He clearly needs to be more careful what he tweets to 44 million followers. This is manna from heaven for them - we are doing exactly what they want in publicising them and giving coverage to their awful views, and Trump has helped them in that."