Britain and Germany have strongly condemned the violence at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that left one woman dead and at least 25 other people injured.
Asked whether the US president’s response had been robust enough, Theresa May’s spokesman said that Donald Trump’s words were “a matter for him”, but added: “We are very clear ... We condemn racism, hatred and violence. We condemn the far right.”
May said in a tweet from the British prime minister’s official Twitter account:
Our thoughts and prayers are with #Charlottesville. The UK stands with the US against racism, hatred and violence.
— UK Prime Minister (@Number10gov) August 13, 2017
German chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said on Monday the scene at the Unite the Right march was “absolutely repulsive”, with “outrageous racism, anti-Semitism and hate in its most despicable form” on display.
The demonstration, over the removal of a Confederate statue, attracted hundreds of white supremacists and members of neo-Nazi groups. Heather Heyer, 32, was killed when a car was driven at speed into a crowd of counter-protesters.
“This is completely contrary to what the chancellor and German government work for,” Seibert said, describing the speech and images at the march as “repugnant”. He said Germany stood “in solidarity with those who stand peacefully against such aggressive extreme-right opinions”.
Trump has come under fire from all quarters after initially speaking out only against violence “on many sides” and failing to specifically condemn white supremacists. About 15 people were also injured in street fighting, local hospitals have reported.
The UK opposition Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, also expressed his outrage and sympathy with the victims, tweeting:
My thoughts are with those killed and injured in #Charlottesville standing up to racism and hatred.
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) August 12, 2017
