UK Leaders Push Back After Trump's 'Sharia' Claim

At the UN General Assembly, President Donald Trump attacked London and Mayor Sadiq Khan, calling him a 'terrible' mayor and claiming London was moving toward 'Sharia law,' while warning that Europe is in trouble. Khan angrily rejected the remarks, calling Trump 'racist, sexist, misogynistic and Islamophobic,' saying he appears to be living 'rent free' in the president’s head and defending London as a liberal, multicultural and successful city. Prime Minister Keir Starmer dismissed the Sharia claim as 'ridiculous nonsense,' publicly defended Khan — saying he is driving down serious crime — and said he would raise the matter in a frank conversation with the president while stressing continued UK–US cooperation. Other UK ministers, MPs and commentators pushed back, denouncing the comments as Islamophobic and factually wrong and noting that British law governs the country and that Sharia is a broad, varied religious framework rather than a monolithic legal takeover. The exchange revived a long-running personal feud dating to 2015 and prompted wider debate in Britain about immigration, multiculturalism and the tone of transatlantic rhetoric.