DONALD Trump is being urged to visit Coventry and the West Midlands to understand Britain’s diversity.
Stratford MP Nadhim Zahawi has issued the invitation after the president provoked widespread anger when he shared videos, posted by the the far-right group ‘Britain First’, on his Twitter feed.
Mr Zahawi – who was born in Iraq – said: “I think this could be a real opportunity to show him what Coventry, Stratford, Birmingham and London look like.
“The West Midlands is a fantastic example of the UK at its most diverse, with people of different backgrounds and creeds living peaceably together and enriching each other’s lives. This is why I said in my letter that the President would find the experience of visiting places like the West Midlands so enlightening. In particular, he would see that our Islamic communities are so far removed from the stereotypes the videos he has unfortunately retweeted seek to portray.”
“We are a most diverse community. I myself was born in Baghdad, I couldn’t speak English, I am now the member of parliament for Stratford-on-Avon.”
Mr Zahawi referred to the anti-Muslim videos re-tweeted by Mr Trump yesterday (November 29) as ‘really fake’ and ‘terrorist porn’, and branded the move ‘naive’.
The US president was condemned by Downing Street for sharing the videos.
The president Trump hit back, telling Prime Minister Theresa May – who was the first foreign leader to visit the Trump White House – to focus on combating ‘terrorism’ rather than his tweets.
Several UK politicians have criticised the president for retweeting her posts including the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who said it was ‘deeply disturbing’.
And it has led to renewed calls for Mr Trump’s planned state visit to the UK to be cancelled, although Downing Street confirmed on Wednesday the invitation still stood.
