London mayor Boris Johnson has mocked Bobby Jindal for talking "complete nonsense", after the Republican governor of Louisiana claimed there were "no-go" areas in the British capital in which only Muslims are allowed.
Speaking on Friday morning at an event in Washington D.C hosted by POLITICO, Johnson said could offer the potential presidential contender a "gentle education" on the "jumbled up" ethnic mix in London.
"There are no no-go zones," he said. "It isn't true". Johnson added that he would be "more than happy to personally escort" Jindal to "any area of London he thinks is a no-go zone".
London mayor Boris Johnson, not impressed with Jindal's description of his city
On a visit to Britain last month in the wake of the terror attacks in Paris, Jindal used a speech to claim that some immigrants were seeking “to colonise Western countries, because setting up your own enclave and demanding recognition of a no-go zone are exactly that".
He then repeated the claim during an interview with a sceptical CNN reporter, Max Foster, outside the Houses of Parliament.
Bobby Jindal:“I’ve heard it from folks here there are neighbourhoods where women don’t feel comfortable going in without veils, that’s wrong. We all know there are neighbourhoods where police are less likely to go into those neighbourhoods.”
Max Foster:“You need to have proper facts to back that up. I’ve lived here a long time, I don’t know of any no-go zones for non-Muslims.”
Jindal:“I did say so-called no-go zones and I think the radical left absolutely wants to pretend like this problem’s not here. Pretending it’s not here won’t make it go away.”
Foster:“But exaggerating it into a no-go zone is also going too far.”
Jindal:“Look there are people in London who will tell you there are neighbourhoods where women don’t feel safe walking through those neighbourhoods without veils. There are neighbourhoods where the police are less likely to go. That’s a dangerous thing.”
Foster:“To make an assertion like that you need to give me an area where we can look at it because I haven’t heard of one.”
Jindal:“Oh well look, I think your viewers know absolutely there are places where the police are less likely to go. They absolutely know there are neighbourhoods where they wouldn’t feel comfortable they wouldn’t feel comfortable with their wives, their daughters, sisters.”
Foster:“Well, that’s high crime rates, I accept that they feel uncomfortable, it’s not because there are too many Muslims there.”
Jindal:“Look this is not a question, I know the left wants to make this into an attack on religion and that’s not what this is. What we’re saying is it’s absolutely an issue for the UK, it’s absolutely an issue for America and other European and Western nations.”
At the time, Democrats said Jindal's comments were a blunder. "It's no surprise that Bobby Jindal would go abroad and butcher the facts in an effort to divide people; this is exactly what we've come to expect from Jindal here at home," said Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Rebecca Chalif. "Jindal is just embarrassing himself."
Jindal's comments came after Steve Emerson, an author often asked on terror networks, told Fox News that in Britain “there are actual cities like Birmingham that are totally Muslim, where non-Muslims just simple don’t go in.”
Emerson’s comments prompted prime minister David Cameron to brand him a “complete idiot.” Emerson later apologised and said his comments "were totally in error." Fox News also issued apologies for broadcasting the comments.