Calls to deny Donald Trump entry to UK as Nicola Sturgeon slams US President for Washington violence that left four dead

Scotland’s Justice Minister has called on Home Secretary Priti Patel to deny President Donald Trump entry to the UK once he leaves office.

His comments came after Nicola Sturgeon joined the chorus of world political leaders condemning the violent scenes in Washington last night, where pro-Trump protesters breached the Capitol Building.

The chaos raged after Mr Trump gave his fans a jolt into action in a rally outside the White House and urged them to march to the Capitol.

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Protesters then clashed with police, one woman died after being shot and three other people died after suffering “medical emergencies”, according to police chief Robert Contee.

Humza Yousaf tweeted: “Once he leaves office if Trump tries to come to UK the Home Secretary should give serious consideration to denying him entry, she has the power if an applicant’s presence is not conducive to the public good.

“Trump’s default is to stir up racial tension and yesterday he incited a violent mob.”

Mr Trump owns two golf courses in Scotland, and on Tuesday Nicola Sturgeon said the country’s travel ban will apply to Mr Trump amid speculation he was planning an overseas golf trip during Joe Biden’s inauguration.

On Thursday, Scotland’s First Minister said that the scenes in Washington – where the US President’s supporters attempted to prevent the formal approval of incoming President Joe Biden's election win – were “shocking”, but not “surprising”.

Nicola Sturgeon has hit out at Donald Trump over the violent scenes in Washington.Nicola Sturgeon has hit out at Donald Trump over the violent scenes in Washington.
Nicola Sturgeon has hit out at Donald Trump over the violent scenes in Washington.

Four people died in a night of violence and 52 people were arrested.

Ms Sturgeon told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “On one level I think what happened last night, what we witnessed last night, is not that surprising.

“In some senses Donald Trump’s presidency has been moving towards this moment almost from the moment it started, but that doesn’t make it any less shocking.

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“What we witnessed weren’t just scenes of horrible breaches of law and order, people taking over the seat of democracy, we actually witnessed the president of the United States inciting insurrection in his own country and I think for many people it will take some time to get our heads round that.

“Thankfully there’s only a matter of days of his presidency left. We heard Joe Biden last night remind us what a real leader, a real democratic leader, should sound like.

“This has been a dark period in America’s history, there’s no doubt about it, and I would imagine many people in that country and across the world are looking forward to it coming to an end but clearly there are deep-seeded divides there that the new administration has to tackle and try to heal.”

Mr Trump has since been forced to commit to an orderly transition of power to Joe Biden through a statement from an adviser after the US president was locked out of his social media accounts.

The president’s deputy chief of staff for communications tweeted a message from Mr Trump which said he “totally disagrees” with the election result but conceded that there would be a smooth transfer to a Biden administration.

Quoting Mr Trump, White House adviser Dan Scavino tweeted: “Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th.

“I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted.

“While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it’s only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!”

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Mr Trump has previously used his own Twitter account to announce a number of major political decisions, including policy changes and the hiring and firing of senior government officials.

The statement came after the US Congress formally validated Joe Biden’s presidential election victory.

Social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, temporarily locked Mr Trump’s accounts after he addressed supporters who stormed the US Capitol.

The president earlier posted a video to protesters, urging them to go home, while also repeating claims of election fraud and telling them “We love you”.

Twitter responded by locking his account for the first time and demanded he remove tweets excusing violence, while also threatening him with “permanent suspension” from the platform.

Twitter Safety posted: “As a result of the unprecedented and ongoing violent situation in Washington DC, we have required the removal of three @realDonaldTrump tweets that were posted earlier today for repeated and severe violations of our civic integrity policy.

“This means that the account of @realDonaldTrump will be locked for 12 hours following the removal of these tweets. If the tweets are not removed, the account will remain locked.

“Future violations of the Twitter Rules, including our civic integrity or violent threats policies, will result in permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump account.”

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Facebook also announced that it had assessed two “policy violations” on Mr Trump’s page and had blocked him from posting for 24 hours.

On Thursday morning, Priti Patel blamed Mr Trump’s incendiary comments for directly provoking violence in an attempt to overturn the election and prevent Biden taking to the White House.

The Home Secretary first accused the president of doing “very little to de-escalate the situation” and, during an interview with Sky News, called for him to “absolutely condemn everything that has taken place”.

But she went further in a subsequent appearance on BBC Breakfast to blame Mr Trump for fanning the flames and provoking the scenes that marred American democracy.

“His comments directly led to the violence and so far he has failed to condemn that violence and that is completely wrong,” the Home Secretary said.

“He basically has made a number of comments yesterday that helped to fuel that violence and he didn’t do anything to de-escalate that whatsoever.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, meanwhile, has called for a “peaceful and orderly transfer of power”.

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