He told of his anger over the US President’s bizarre claim the capital is so dangerous “people being stabbed in the ass”.
Sir Mark Rowley has attacked US criticism of London (Image: Getty)
Donald Trump’s claims of “no-go areas” in London are “nonsense” and many parts of the US are more violent than England’s capital, Sir Mark Rowley has declared.
The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police said the murder rate in London is “is lower than every single US state”, adding “this is a safe city”.
He told of his anger over the US President’s bizarre claim the capital is so dangerous “people being stabbed in the ass”.
Donald Trump ramped up his feud with the Mayor of London earlier this week by calling him “disgusting” and a “disaster”, and criticised high levels of immigration in Europe.
And he last month claimed crime had gone “right up” in England’s capital.
But Sir Mark told LBC’s Nick Ferrari: “In terms of some of the comments that come from America about London, they’re complete nonsense. So, there’s no no-go areas. That’s completely false. I think how anybody in America can suggest the UK is violent is completely ridiculous.
“I think the homicide rate in London is lower than every single US state. It’s lower than all their big cities. I think the murder rate in New York, last time I looked, is about three or four times higher than it is in London per capita. Whilst I make this point, the homicide rate in London is lower than it is in Toronto.
“It’s lower than Paris, it’s lower than Brussels, it’s lower than Berlin. This is a safe city. I’m not going to pretend it’s perfect. It’s a safe city. Injury violence in London is lower than the other cities in the in the UK.
“And I think this trend of trying to rubbish London, some of which is driven by politics, we who are proud Londoners, need to fight back about it, because there’s lots to be proud of about London.
“Clearly, there are some crime issues that we’re tackling, and it’s not perfect, but I’m proud of the progress we’re making at reducing crime.”
Mr Trump said London and Paris were a “much different place” because “politically correct” leaders in Europe “don’t want to send them back to where they came from”.
Donald Trump has condemned crime in London (Image: Getty)
Mr Trump added: “If you take a look at London, you have a mayor named Khan. He’s a horrible mayor. He’s an incompetent mayor, but he’s a horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor. He’s a disaster. He’s a disaster. He’s got a totally different ideology to what he’s supposed to have. And he gets elected because so many people have come in. They vote for him now because you know, it’s like … it’s one of those things.”
But Sir Mark refused to be drawn into personal attacks on Donald Trump.
He said: “I’m not going to talk about him personally. But the picture that’s been portrayed sometimes about London internationally, is not accurate.”
