Donald Trump’s “divisive” travel ban could provide a “propaganda opportunity” for the Islamic State terror group, Home Secretary Amber Rudd has warned as the UK Government finally looked to get tough with the US President’s controversial policy.
After Prime Minister Theresa May dithered before saying she disagreed with the ban on seven largely Muslim countries, Cabinet ministers Boris Johnson and Sajid Javid both spoke out against it.
But appearing before members of the Home Affairs Select Committee today, Rudd upped the ante:
“Isil and Daesh will use any opportunity they can to make difficulties to create the environment that they want, to radicalise people, to bring them over to their side, so it is a propaganda opportunity for them potentially.”
Trump’s Executive Order applies to Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Libya and the Yemen for 90 days, while Syrian refugees will be banned indefinitely.
It caused confusion over how British citizens born in these countries, including Sir Mo Farah, would be affected.
Rudd argued homegrown radicalisation was a bigger problem than extremism being fuelled by migrants - which is the purpose of Trump’s ban. She said:
“I would observe that the difficulties to the UK over terrorism are not caused by people largely coming from the sort of countries that the US has named, but from people becoming radicalised here, so I would urge our efforts to continue to be on addressing radicalisation here in the UK.
“I think the important thing for this government is that we disagree with the ban, and that we have said that it is divisive, it is wrong.
“I will continue to say - and I’m sure that all MPs will reassure their constituents - that the sort of language the Prime Minister has used and that I have used, this will never be our policy, we have a completely different approach to refugees to these countries”.