Donald Trump has argued that "thousands and thousands" of Britons backed the controversial remarks he made about Muslims.
At the end of last year, the Republican presidential frontrunner sparked controversy when he called for all Muslims to barred from entering America and claimed areas of London were “so radicalised” that police “were afraid for their own lives”. These remarks prompted more than half a million people to sign a petition calling for him to be banned from entering the UK, which then went on to be debated in parliament.
But speaking to Piers Morgan on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, the billionaire mogul insisted many members of the British public supported his claims. "A lot of people - and I mean thousands and thousands of people - were tweeting saying you're right, you're right, Mr Trump, you are right, and so I don't know what's going on over there but I can tell you there is some unrest.”
Trump also claimed there had been significant resistance to demands for him to be banned from Britain.
“There was such opposition from people that live in Great Britain, in the UK generally, in fact all over Europe, the people were incensed at the concept of me being banned for speaking really what they said was the truth. And, as you know, that ban went nowhere, it shouldn't have gone anywhere, it was a disgraceful thing but it went nowhere," he added.
At the time, Boris Johnson denounced Trump’s “ill-informed comments” about London, claiming they were “complete and utter nonsense”. More recently, the Mayor of London said being mistaken for the tycoon-turned-politico in New York was one “of the worst moments”.
But Trump was rather more positive about Mr Johnson, saying he “looks like a good character and probably a nice guy”.
During the interview, he also claimed immigration “craziness” will drive Britain to vote in favour of leaving the European Union.
The Republican presidential hopeful argued a Brexit was on the cards because people were “pouring in all over the place”.
“I think that Britain will separate from the EU. I think that maybe it's time, especially in light of what's happened with the craziness that is going on with immigration, with people pouring in all over the place I think that Britain will end up separating from the EU. That’s my opinion. I'm not endorsing it one way or the other,” the former reality TV star added.
Britain is due to hold a referendum on its membership of the EU on June 23. According to a recent poll commissioned by The Observer, immigration is by far the leading factor influencing people on how they vote.
