Top doctor hits back at Trump's 'ridiculous' claims London hospital is 'like a war zone for horrible stabbing wounds'
Video report by ITV News Political Correspondent Romilly Weeks
A top London doctor and trauma surgeon at the hospital thought to have been singled out by Donald Trump when he told the National Rifle Association (NRA) that it was "like a war zone for horrible stabbing wounds", has hit back at the President's "ridiculous" claims.
Professor Karim Brohi, trauma surgeon at The Royal London Hospital said that he was "proud" of the "excellent trauma care" and "world-leading service" the hospital provides, and also "proud" to "serve the people of London".
As President Trump gave his speech to the NRA convention in Dallas, Texas, he mimed a stabbing motion after making his inflammatory comments.
Mr Trump told the NRA: "Yes that's right, they don't have guns, they have knives and instead there's blood all over the floors of this hospital."
The 71-year-old did not state which London hospital he was referring to, but it is believed to be The Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London.
The President may have been referring to an article that ran on the Breitbart website last month, which took comments from a surgeon speaking on the BBC's "Today" programme.
Martin Griffiths, a surgeon at the Royal London Hospital, was speaking to Today programme about young victims of violence after a spate of deadly crime in the city, which meant the number of suspected murders in March was higher than that of New York.
Speaking to the BBC he said: "A quarter of what we see in our practice is knife and gun injury."
Dr Griffiths also said that some of his military colleagues had likened working in the city to their time at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan.
While Prof Brohi, who is also the Director of London's major trauma system admitted that "knife violence is a serious issue for London", he said The Royal London provided "excellent care".
"We are proud of the excellent trauma care we provide and of our violence reduction programmes," Prof Brohi said.
He continued: "The Royal London Hospital has cut the number of our young patients returning after further knife attacks from 45% to one percent.
"There is more we can all do to combat this violence, but to suggest guns are part of the solution is ridiculous.
"Gunshot wounds are at least twice as lethal as knife injuries and more difficult to repair.
"We are proud of our world-leading service and to serve the people of London."
As of April 6, Scotland Yard had launched 55 investigations into suspected murders in London in 2018, of which at least 35 were stabbed to death.
Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Sir Ed Davey said despite a rise in crime in the capital, Mr Trump's remarks are "nevertheless ridiculous".
He said: "To defend America's shocking gun laws by revealing his ignorance of Britain should alarm even his apologists in the Conservative Party."
In further comments in his extraordinary address to the pro-gun lobby, Mr Trump also claimed that the 2015 Paris terror attack, in which 130 were killed, could have been stopped had the victims been armed with guns.
He said: "If one employee or just one patron had a gun… or if one person in this room had been there with a gun... the terrorists would have fled or been shot and it would have been a whole different story."
He earlier gained cheers for telling the NRA his administration was "fighting to protect your Second Amendment, and we will protect your Second Amendment" right to bear arms.
The President told tens of thousands of attendees that their right to bear arms was “under siege”.
But he pledged that those rights “will never, ever be under siege as long as I’m your president”.
Trump did not elaborate on how the Second Amendment was under siege.
The President's comment that a London hospital is "like a war zone" is likely to cause anger in Britain, with many planning demonstrations when he visits in July.
The US president has been warned to expect protests during the controversial trip, which will be a “working visit” rather than a full-blown state occasion.
The President was addressing the NRA gathering nearly three months after a deadly shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida.
The President temporarily strayed from the group’s strong opposition to tougher gun controls after the school shooting – only to rapidly return to the fold.
He was speaking at the event for the fourth year in a row.
In 2017, he became the first sitting president to appear in more than 30 years, declaring that the “assault” on the Second Amendment had ended.
But this year’s speech in Dallas came as the issue of gun violence takes on new urgency after one of the deadliest school shootings in US history.
Survivors of the February 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 17 people dead are leading a massive national gun control movement.
Several groups have announced plans to protest over the weekend during the NRA event. The protesters will include parents of those killed in Parkland and other shootings.
The survivors’ campaign has not led to major changes from the White House or the Republican-led Congress but Mr Trump did briefly declare he would stand up to the powerful gun lobby.
He later backpedalled, expressing support for modest changes to the background check system, as well as arming teachers.
His attendance at this year’s NRA convention was announced just days ago and came after Vice President Mike Pence was already scheduled to appear.
Asked why Mr Trump was attending, given political tensions around gun violence, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said this week that safety was a “big priority”.