The Prime Minister also defended Sadiq Khan, who Trump labelled a ‘terrible mayor’ on Monday
06:41, 26 Sep 2025Updated 06:41, 26 Sep 2025
The pair are at war over Sadiq Khan(Image: PA Wire/PA Images)
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has dismissed Donald Trump’s assertion that London is seeking to implement sharia law as “ridiculous nonsense”. The PM also came to the defence of London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who was labelled a “terrible mayor” by the US president during a speech at the United Nations.
Speaking to BBC London on Thursday, Sir Keir stated: “You saw from the state visit last week that there are plenty of things on which the President and I agree and we’re working together.”
He added: “There are some issues on which we disagree. And what the President said about the Mayor, who’s doing a really good job, in fact driving down serious crime, what he said about the introduction of sharia law was ridiculous nonsense.”
‘Khan Wars'(Image: Riccardo Savi, Getty Images for Concordia Summit)
When questioned in another interview with ITV London if he would confront Mr Trump over these comments in their next conversation, Sir Keir responded affirmatively: “Of course.
“We have a frank conversation about many, many things. But I want to express my support for our mayor, Sadiq Khan. We’re very proud to have a Muslim in our diverse city.”
When asked if he concurred with Mr Khan’s description of Mr Trump as “racist, sexist and Islamophobic”, the Prime Minister chose not to engage, stating: “I’m not going to get drawn into a war of words.”
Furthermore, the Prime Minister disagreed with the Republican president’s claim that European countries are “going to hell”. Speaking to BBC South East, he countered: “No, he’s not right about that. I think we’ve got an incredible country of compassionate, reasonable, tolerant people in this country, and I’m very proud of who we are as a people.
“I do accept the challenge that I’ve set out myself, which is that we’ve got to tackle illegal migration, particularly in the Channel, but that’s not the only illegal migration that we have to tackle.
“And then on lawful migration, the last Government lost control. It went up fourfold. We’re bringing it down to make sure that we get the balance right.”
Discussing his rapport with Mr Trump, Sir Keir stated: “Where we disagree, we talk that through. So, you know, the vast majority of cases, particularly security, defence and intelligence, we’re working very closely.
“There are other areas where I don’t agree with the President, and I’ve been very clear about that.”
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