UKIP leader Nigel Farage has said that people have overreacted to Donald Trump’s comments on Muslims, and it would be absurd to ban him from entering the UK.
Speaking on radio station LBC this morning, Mr Farage said any ban on the Republican frontrunner entering the UK would be ludicrous is now “part of the democratic process of the West” and “could be the next President of America.”
Those who have signed a petition calling for the UK to ban Mr Trump, he said, are “the same group of people who it seems want to ban everyone from coming into Britain,” comparing them to student activists who want to “no platform” everyone they disagree with.
Mr Trump “hasn’t encouraged any people being shot or killed or maimed,” Mr Farage added.
Regarding Mr Trump’s comments that some areas of London are so radicalised that police are afraid to set foot in them, one retired policeman phoned the show to confirm that many former colleagues have concerns about radical Muslims and are scared to wear their uniforms in certain areas.
He also said that despite the fact many police officers have these worries, they were being kept hidden from the electorate.
Mr Farage responded by speaking of his experience in the Oldham West and Royton by-election last week which “reminded me of Northern Ireland”.
In Northern Ireland, streets were divided between Catholic and Protestant communities, with the two rarely intermingling. In Oldham, Mr Farage said, the town was divided between white British residents and Pakistani and Bangladeshi families.
“We have a parallel societies in Britain,” he said.
Turning his attention to boxer Tyson Fury, who is accused of making sexist and homophobic comments, Mr Farage said that his views used to be mainstream and are still “what every Catholic priest thinks, what every Muslim imam thinks.”
Tyson Fury is currently in the running for the BBC’s “Sports Personality of the Year Award”, but some have called for him to be dropped. Mr Farage said, however, that the outrage will backfire and lead to him topping the public vote.
“Get down to Ladbrookes, get your money on, because Tyson Fury is going to win,” he said.