Labour slams Theresa May for 'not calling out' Donald Trump on his anti-Muslim Britain First retweets
Jeremy Corbyn has slammed Theresa May for "not calling out" Donald Trump on retweeting anti-Muslim videos during a phone call with the US president.
The Labour leader made the accusation after a Downing Street summary of the talks failed to mention the controversy which sparked an extraordinary transatlantic spat.
A Number 10 spokesman said the talk included the two countries' differing positions on the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as capital of Israel, but no reference was made to the tweet controversy coming up in the call.
"It has taken Theresa May two weeks to contact Trump over his dangerous decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital, yet she seems to have failed to use the opportunity to call him out for retweeting abhorrent Islamophobic material,” a spokesman for Corbyn.
"As Prime Minister, May has a responsibility to stand up against hate and for all communities in our country."
The call was the first time the two leaders had spoken since their public row over Trump's retweets of anti-Muslim videos posted by the far-right Britain First group's deputy leader, Jayda Fransen.
May said at the time Trump was "wrong" to circulate the videos; Trump hit back telling the PM to focus on "destructive radical Islamic terrorism" in the UK, rather than on his social media.
Trump sparked protests across the Middle East by ending decades of US policy towards and announcing Jerusalem as Israel's capital on December 6.
May said at Prime Minister's Questions that day she intended to speak to Trump about the matter.
The PM's spokesman said the fact it took 13 days between May announcing her intention to speak with Trump about Jerusalem and the call actually taking place was a "matter of scheduling" and the PM "didn't put any timeframe on it".
On Monday, Britain joined 13 other members of the United Nation's Security Council in backing a resolution, vetoed by the US, which rejected the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
"They discussed the different positions we took on the recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, and agreed on the importance of the US bringing forward new proposals for peace and the international community supporting these efforts,” a Downing Street spokesman said.
"The Prime Minister also raised Yemen, highlighting our ongoing deep concerns at the humanitarian situation. They agreed on the vital importance of reopening humanitarian and commercial access to prevent famine and alleviate the suffering of innocent Yemenis.
"The Prime Minister updated the president on the recent good progress of the Brexit negotiations, and the president set out the progress he had made on his economic agenda. They agreed on the importance of a swift post-Brexit bilateral trade deal.
"They wished each other a very merry Christmas and looked forward to keeping in close touch."