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Donald Trump used a 55-minute incendiary speech to the UN on Tuesday to attack London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, the state of the city and the UK’s record on oil production and climate change.
Critics said the US president was using his international platform to spread racist lies and environmental myths about the UK for political gain.
We have examined his claims to see if any stand up to scrutiny.
London ‘to go to sharia law’
Trump said: “I look at London, where you have a terrible mayor, terrible, terrible mayor, and it’s been changed, it’s been so changed. Now they want to go to sharia law. But you are in a different country, you can’t do that.”
There is no evidence that Khan, a member of the “soft left” of the Labour party who defines himself as a liberal and progressive, wishes to introduce any form of sharia law in London.
Sharia, Islam’s legal system, is derived from the Qur’an and the sayings of the prophet Muhammad. The term “sharia law” is generally applied to countries such as Saudi Arabia and Taliban-run Afghanistan and is associated with harsh criminal punishments and strict codes of conduct, particularly for women. Interpretations, however, vary.
Sharia councils, also known as sharia courts, have existed in pockets of the UK, including London, since the 1980s. They serve in an advisory role, dealing with personal and religious issues within Muslim communities, according to the House of Commons’ library. Labour and Conservative governments have been clear that their rulings are not legally binding.
Rightwing memes have long claimed that Khan plans to introduce sharia law. In 2020, photos with a quote attributed to Khan read: “We are trialling shakira [sic] law in three of London’s boroughs right now. We will then roll it out in the remaining thirty next year.”
The post, which misspelt it as “shakira”, was falsely attributed to Khan, the mayor’s office said.
Trump’s comments claiming that London has been changed for the worse under a “terrible” mayor echoed remarks six days ago that “crime in London is through the roof”. The most recent statistics from the mayor’s office show an annual fall in theft, robbery and burglary.
Tension between the two men dates back to 2015, when Khan condemned Trump’s call to ban all Muslims from travelling to the US. The US leader also attacked Khan’s handling of the London Bridge terror attack in 2017.
During the US leader’s first state visit in 2019, Khan permitted the flight of a giant inflatable “Trump baby” blimp.
UK has lost ‘powerful edge’ on North Sea
Trump claimed the UK had given up its “powerful edge” by making North Sea oil “so highly taxed that no developer, no oil company can go there”.
He said: “They have tremendous oil left and, more importantly, they have tremendous oil that hasn’t even been found yet.
Squeezing every last drop of oil and gas from the North Sea would eke out the basin’s reserves for about 14 years, according to the North Sea Transition Authority, at current extraction levels.
Far from having vast reserves unfound, the regulator projects that 90% of future production will come from existing fields.
When Russia invaded Ukraine, oil and gas prices soared, giving companies bumper profits while they incurred no extra costs. The Conservative government slapped a windfall tax on those profits, backed by the International Energy Agency. Critics said the tax was too low and Labour has since increased it.Trump rails against taxes, but the Norwegian government put its profits from North Sea oil into a sovereign wealth fund.
That fund – which did not inhibit Norway’s drilling – is now worth $1.8tn and generates more income for Norwegian citizens than oil and gas production.
