Theresa May refuses to condemn Donald Trump's defence of neo-Nazis

Prime Minister says there is ‘no equivalence between those who propound fascist views and those who oppose them’ – but does not directly criticise US President

Theresa May has refused to directly criticise Donald Trump after he partly blamed anti-fascist protesters for violent clashes at a white supremacist march.

Quizzed in Portsmouth, after returning from her summer break, the Prime Minister contradicted the US President by saying there was “no equivalence” between the protesters and far-right marchers.

However, unlike hard-hitting comments from a cabinet minister and Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson, there was no direct criticism of Mr Trump.

“I see no equivalence between those who propound fascist views and those who oppose them,” Ms May said.

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

Earlier, Sajid Javid, the Communities Secretary, tweeted: “Neo-Nazis: bad. Anti-Nazis: good. I learned that as a child. It was pretty obvious.”

Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Tory leader, tweeted: “The President of the United States has just turned his face to the world to defend Nazis, fascists and racists. For shame.”

And a second minister, Sam Gyimah, tweeted: “Words matter. Silence matters. We must call out hate – unambiguously – to preserve the free & tolerant society many have fought & die for.”

The criticism had piled pressure on the Prime Minister to also speak out about the US President’s stance on the violence which left one protester dead and many others injured.

Ms May is also facing growing calls to officially cancel the planned state visit by Mr Trump, which has already been pushed back because of fears of mass protests.

The President sparked fresh outrage overnight when he again defended the far-right marchers at the Charlottesville rally, saying they were not all neo-Nazis and white supremacists.

Mr Trump claimed what he called the “alt-left” was equally to blame for the violence – just one day after, under pressure from advisers, he had finally condemned the far right for what happened.

The march attracted far-right groups, some chanting white supremacist slogans as they held a torchlight parade through Charlottesville.

They were confronted by anti-racism groups. Heather Heyer was killed and 19 others injured when a car was driven deliberately into the protesters.

But, at a rowdy press conference in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York yesterday, the President said: “You had a group on one side and group on the other and they came at each other with clubs. There is another side, you can call them the left, that came violently attacking the other group.

He then said: “You had people that were very fine people on both sides,” adding: “Not all those people were neo-Nazis, not all those people were white supremacists.”

The comments were welcomed by David Duke, a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan, who tweeted: “Thank you President Trump for your honesty & courage to tell the truth about #Charlottesville & condemn the leftist terrorists.”

Speaking on the Portsmouth dockside today, the Prime Minister – after more than three weeks’ walking in Italy and Switzerland – stuck to her script.

After meeting the crew of the new HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier, she hailed the ship as a “symbol of the United Kingdom as a great global maritime nation”.

“It sends a clear signal that as Britain forges a new, positive, confident role on the world stage in the years ahead we are determined to remain a fully engaged global power, working closely with our friends and allies around the world,” Ms May said.