Donald Trump is an 'evil racist', says Vince Cable

Liberal Democrat leader says Brexit has made UK Government 'humiliatingly' dependent on US President's support

Vince Cable said the row with Donald Trump meant Theresa May had lost 'her last remaining friend on the world stage' (AFP)

Vince Cable has called Donald Trump an “evil racist” and demanded the Government cancel the US President’s planned state visit to the UK.

The Liberal Democrat leader was responding to Mr Trump criticising Theresa May after she condemned his retweeting of three anti-Muslim videos posted by far-right group Britain First.

Mr Cable said Brexit was making the UK more reliant on the support of Mr Trump and claimed the row over the Republican’s tweets meant Ms May had “lost her last remaining friend on the world stage”.

Writing on Twitter, Mr Cable said: “New Donald Trump insult to Theresa May. She must end humiliating dependence of Brexit Britain on goodwill of evil racist. Cancel visit.”

He later added: “Many of us warned when Theresa May walked hand in hand with Donald Trump that any relationship with such a racist was bound to end badly, but the prime minister, desperate for a trade deal, ignored the advice from across the political spectrum.

“Theresa May’s extreme Brexit has alienated our European allies and now she has lost her last remaining friend on the world stage, leaving Britain isolated and alone. The solution is clear: an exit from Brexit and a divorce from Trump.”

It comes amid an escalating row over Mr Trump’s decision to retweet three videos posted by Britain First’s deputy leader Jayda Frensen, which triggered widespread condemnation and placed his relationship with Ms May under strain.

After the Prime Minister’s spokesman said the Republican had been “wrong” to retweet the videos, Mr Trump wrote on Twitter: “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!”

MPs of all parties used an urgent question in the House of Commons to express their anger at Mr Trump’s posts and the Government’s decision to offer the Republican a state visit.

Labour’s Yvette Cooper said: “The President of the United States has just given it a rocket boost in provoking hate in our communities. We cannot simply roll out a red carpet and give a platform to the US president to sow discord in our communities.”

Tory MP Peter Bone called on the Prime Minister to try to “persuade the President to delete his Twitter account”.

Speaking during a visit to Jordan, Ms May reiterated her condemnation of Mr Trump, saying: “I am very clear that retweeting Britain First was the wrong thing to do.”

In a statement, Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, added his voice to the mounting criticism. He said: “President Trump yesterday used Twitter to promote a vile, extremist group that exists solely to sow division and hatred in our country.

“As the Mayor of this great diverse city, I have previously called on Theresa May to cancel her ill-judged offer of a state visit to President Trump. After this latest incident, it is increasingly clear that any official visit at all from President Trump to Britain would not be welcomed.”

The White House has defended the tweets, even after one of them was categorically debunked by Dutch officials.

Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said: "Whether it is a real video, the threat is real. That is what the President is talking about, that is what the President is focused on is dealing with those real threats, and those are real no matter how you look at it.

She added: "The threat needs to be addressed. The threat has to be talked about and that is what the President is doing in bringing that up."