Moazzam Begg brands Donald Trump 'bad dude' who should go to Guantanamo Bay
Former Guantanamo Bay prisoner Moazzam Begg has said Donald Trump is one of the "bad dudes" who should be sent to the internment camp in Cuba.
Speaking in Parliament Square as part of Saturday's March Against Racism, Mr Begg referenced a speech made by the US President in which he said he would send more inmates to the controversial facility.
An estimated 30,000 people took part in the peaceful march.
Addressing the crowds, Mr Begg said: "The rise of the far-right and the Nazis and fascists has seen a new wave with the election of Donald Trump, who said when he came to power, 'I'm going to load up Guantanamo with some bad dudes.'
"So my response is: 'When are you going, dude?"
He joined Tottenham Labour MP David Lammy in slamming a small group of counter-protesters who were suspected of being from the far-right English Defence League (EDL).
Mr Begg said that while the influence of the EDL had decreased in recent months, the job to "smash" them was not over, "because some of their view have become mainstream".
Begg spent almost three years under US custody on suspicion of terrorist affiliations between 2002 and 2005.
He was later released and has spoken widely of his experiences as a prisoner in the Guantanamo Bay institution and other detainment camps under American control.
In his speech Mr Lammy raised concerns over the meeting this week between former Ukip leader Nigel Farage and far-right French politician Marie Le Pen, saying it was evidence of current ill-feeling towards minorities.
He said: "We are sending a message that we don't want that kind of fascism and xenophobia across our planet and in our country.
"My parents arrived in this county in the 1950s to signs that said 'no blacks, no Irish, no dogs' and we thought because of so much strife that by the time we got to the 21st century we had turned our backs on racism.
"And then, we get June the 21st. We get a rise in hate crime across the country almost by 50%."
Fellow Labour MP Catherine West echoed Mr Lammy, saying that the meeting had been the "worst image in all of the TV coverage this week".
She said: "This is a step towards an outcome that we are here today to say, 'no way', because Nigel Farage has always said he is a perfectly reasonable choice on the ballot paper.
"He is standing alongside a fascist - Front Nationale is a fascist organisation - and we must contact every single person we know in France to say 'you must not vote for them when it comes up on April 23'.
"We cannot have the Front Nationale in France. Regardless of any excuse that comes their way, the Front Nationale and Nigel Farage are of the same ilk."