Downing Street lobby briefing on Trump's tweets, the Northern Irish border and immigration figures
2 min read
Here is a summary of this morning's briefing for lobby journalists by the Prime Minister's official spokesman.
DONALD TRUMP'S TWEETS
Number 10 today defended British Muslims after Donald Trump told Theresa May to “focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom”.
The spat came after Downing St said the US President was “wrong” to retweet far-right group Britain First.
Mr Trump quickly hit back, writing: “@Theresa_May, 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!”
But today, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman responded to the slight by saying: “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 over a number of years that where Islamist extremism does exist it should be tackled head on. We are working hard to do that both at home and internationally including with our US partners.”
The spokesperson also confirmed that the planned state visit for Mr Trump would still go ahead.
“The US is one of our oldest, closest most trusted allies, that invitation has been extended and accepted,” he said.
NORTHERN IRISH BORDER
The spokesman said that talks on plans for the Northern Irish border post-Brexit were “ongoing as you would expect in the run up to the European Council”.
IMMIGRATION
Commenting on today’s immigration figures, which show that UK net migration fell by more than 100,000 following Brexit, the spokesman said numbers were “moving in the right direction”.
“The Prime Minster has been clear on the need to reduce immigration to sustainable levels and its clear from today’s figures that progress has been made in that direction,” he added.
The spokesman also noted “the continuing contribution which immigration makes to the UK economy and to public services”.
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