PRITI Patel has slammed Donald Trump for making comments which “directly” led to the violence on Capitol Hill in Washington.
The Home Secretary lashed out at the outgoing US President for failing to attempt to quell the scenes of chaos which led to deaths of at least four people.
The violent riots erupted after Trump told supporters to prevent President Elect Joe Biden’s election win being certified: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol.
“And we’re gonna cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women. And we’re probably not going to be cheering, so much for some of them, because you’ll never take back our country with weakness, you have to show strength and you have to be strong.”
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Ms Patel denounced the US President for egging on protestors who forced their way into the Capitol, smashing glass and running freely through building.
She blasted: “His comments directly led to the violence and so far he has failed to condemn that violence, and that is completely wrong.
“Let’s be very clear in terms of the scenes in Washington, and the display of violence, (Trump) has made a number of comments that helped to fuel that violence.”
She added: “I just think there is no scope for violence whatsoever, and it’s just appalling in terms of what we’ve seen.
“America needs to move on, and have the transition (to the next President) that is absolutely essential – and the type of transition that America is famous for.”
As the protestors charged into the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi’s office, lawmakers were evacuated and staffers ordered to take emergency bags with food, water and gas marks as they fled the building.
Mr Trump posted on Twitter, urging protestors to stay “peaceful” but stopped short of telling them to leave.
He said: “I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence!”
Trump eventually released a video telling those that sieged the building to “go home” – as he still made unbacked claims of fraud and told demonstrators they were “special”.
Meanwhile, the vice-President Mike Pence told anyone involved in the protests to head home.
Ms Patel slammed Trump for failing to try to stop the violent scenes.
She said: “He didn’t do anything to de-escalate that whatsoever.
“His language was not de-escalating the violence, what we’ve seen is completely unacceptable.”
Boris Johnson also branded the scenes “disgraceful” but fell short of blaming Mr Trump.
He said: “Disgraceful scenes in U.S. Congress.
“The United States stands for democracy around the world and it is now vital that there should be a peaceful and orderly transfer of power.”
And Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab urged people to accept the results of the election.
Mr Raab said: “The US rightly takes great pride in its democracy, and there can be no justification for these violent attempts to frustrate the lawful and proper transition of power.”
The chaos led to one woman being shot by police during the confrontation – she later died in hospital.
The victim’s husband has since identified her as Ashli Babbit, of San Diego, KUSI-TV reports.
Another pro-Trump rioter was also injured after falling from a balcony at the Capitol. The protester has been hospitalized in serious condition, according to reports.
In another incident, an adult male was stabbed outside of the Trump Hotel. The victim has been transported to the hospital conscious and breathing. No arrests have been made, a DC Police spokesperson told NBC.
Police also announced that 14 of their officers were injured.
