The comment drew sharp criticism from then-Prime Minister Lord Cameron, who said it was “wrong” to question the courage of British police officers.
Boris Johnson, London’s mayor at the time, also derided the idea of police keeping away from some areas, calling it “ill-informed” and “utter nonsense”.
Scotland Yard broke with tradition and issued a statement, saying: “Normally we would not respectfully respond to such comments, but we would like to take this opportunity to say that Mr Trump could not be more wrong. “We think it’s important to make clear to Londoners that there is no such thing.”
That same year, FOX News made similar claims. The broadcaster later issued an apology and was criticized by Ofcom.
“Anti-Muslim hatred”
Mr Scully said earlier in Monday’s interview that he did not believe the Conservative Party had an Islamophobia problem.
“I don’t like the word,” he added, preferring to use “anti-Muslim hate” when appropriate.
Asked if he thought there was a problem with Islamophobia within the party, he said: I think some people get scared when they try to represent Japan. It’s a sense of populism in certain parts of the country. You can see what’s happening in Rochdale at the moment, with by-elections and such.
“It tends to be partly political. There has been anti-Semitism within the Labor Party in recent years and people are concerned about changes in their areas, particularly in parts of the north. Especially not in London, and I think they’re trying to reflect that, but in a really, really clumsy way.
“We must use our words wisely so that adults can have a constructive discussion about this.”