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Jeremy Hunt was branded "unfit for office" today after he defended Donald Trump over an attack on Sadiq Khan.

The Foreign Secretary said he "agreed 150%" with the "sentiment" behind the President's swipe at London's mayor on knife crime.

The row erupted when Trump branded Mr Khan a "national disgrace" on Saturday following three killings in the capital in two days.

As part of his attack, the President retweeted a post by Katie Hopkins branding the city "Khan's Londonistan".

Mr Khan, London's first Muslim mayor, accused the President of "amplifying a racist tweet" and becoming "a poster boy for racists around the world".

Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott added: "It's hard to escape the conclusion that President Trump may be singling out Sadiq Khan because he is of the Muslim faith."

Yet asked about the 'Londonistan' post today, Mr Hunt failed to condemn the language used.

Instead he told a Westminster hustings: "President Trump has his own style and I wouldn’t use those words myself.

“But the sentiment is enormous disappointment that we have a Mayor of London who has completely failed to tackle knife crime and spent more time on politics than the actual business of making Londoners safer.

“And in that, I 150% agree with the President.”

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(Image: REUTERS)

Mr Hunt also failed to mention the Tory government has cut more than 20,000 police officers from Britain's streets since 2010.

He later attempted to clarify his remarks by insisting the term Londonistan was "offensive" and he would "never" endorse racism.

The comments left Mr Hunt isolated from Tory leadership rivals Sajid Javid, Michael Gove, Rory Stewart and Dominic Raab.

Home Secretary Mr Javid said the comments were "unbecoming" of the President, adding: "He should be concerned about the serious violence in his own country where it is more than 10 times higher than it is in the UK."

Environment Secretary Mr Gove said: "I think it is always a mistake to retweet anything Katie Hopkins tweets".

International Development Secretary Mr Stewart tweeted: "I 100% disagree with both the language and the sentiment of the last sentence of this tweet. Can all candidates please confirm the same."

And Mr Raab said Trump's comment was not "helpful or constructive", adding: "I disagree with a lot of things that Sadiq Khan has said but I'm proud to have a Muslim Mayor of London and a Muslim Home Secretary."

(Image: Leon Neal)

Nick Lowles, chief executive of anti-fascist group HOPE Not Hate, said: "It is quite depressing when, in a desperate quest for votes, a leading Government minister backs Donald Trump in retweeting a far right racist.

"For a wannabe Prime Minister to support a tweet calling London 'Londonistan' makes them unfit for office."

A Muslim Council of Britain spokesman added: "For our Foreign Secretary and potentially future Prime Minister to agree with the 'sentiment' of this known Islamophobe without condemning the clear bigoted intent behind it, is shocking.

"It is still further proof that Islamophobia is given a free pass at the highest echelons of the Conservative Party."

Mr Hunt later attempted to row back following a phone call with Tory peer Sayeeda Warsi.

Baroness Warsi said he "assured me that he abhors Katie Hopkins, her disgusting views and everything she stands for."

In comments retweeted by Mr Hunt, Baroness Warsi added: "He believes the term Londonistan is offensive and would never endorse sentiments that try and frame London's knife crime challenge as a racial or religious phenomenon.

"We should always call out racism but also important to allow people to clarify and judge them accordingly."

(Image: REUTERS)

Mr Hunt's Tory rival Sajid Javid - who is also from a Muslim background - criticised the President.

He told the same hustings: "I think President Trump should stick to domestic policies and I think it is unbecoming of a leader of such a great state to keep trying to interfere in other countries' domestic policies."

He added: "The President is right to be concerned about serious violence.

"But he should be concerned about the serious violence in his own country where it is more than 10 times higher than it is in the UK."

Also asked about Trump's tweet, Tory leadership candidate Rory Stewart said "I feel very strongly that you should be firm" with world leaders, but that discussions of this kind should happen "privately".

(Image: Getty Images) (Image: PA) (Image: REUTERS)

Mr Hunt also used today's hustings as an opportunity to launch a blistering attack on Commons Speaker John Bercow.

He said Mr Bercow would have a “mixed record” and also be remembered as a “reforming” Speaker of the Commons.

But he declared: “I profoundly disagree with the way he has used his office to further a particular political agenda.

“I think the Speaker has to be impartial and that means recognising the government has a voice in Parliament, not just the opposition.”

Yet - with Boris Johnson the 1/7-odds favourite to be Prime Minister - he cynically REFUSED to attack the frontrunner.

He even shrugged "everyone makes mistakes" when asked about Boris Johnson's comments about Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

(Image: Dan Kitwood)

The then-Foreign Secretary is accused of lengthening the British mum's jail term in Iran after he incorrectly told MPs she had been training journalists.

Yet Mr Hunt said: "I'm not going to comment on that because everyone makes mistakes. I mean that.

"Everyone makes mistakes as Foreign Secretary.

"You are constantly making very finely balanced judgements and it is possible to get things wrong and I'm sure I'll get things wrong in the future as well."

Tory leadership election results FIFTH ROUND (two candidates with most support go to membership vote) Boris Johnson - 160

Jeremy Hunt - 77

Michael Gove - 75 (KNOCKED OUT) FOURTH ROUND (candidate with lowest support knocked out) Boris Johnson - 157

Michael Gove - 61

Jeremy Hunt - 59

Sajid Javid - 34 (KNOCKED OUT) THIRD ROUND (candidate with lowest support knocked out) Boris Johnson - 143

Jeremy Hunt - 54

Michael Gove - 51

Sajid Javid - 38

Rory Stewart - 27 (KNOCKED OUT) SECOND ROUND (33 MPs to pass) Boris Johnson - 126

Jeremy Hunt - 46

Michael Gove - 41

Rory Stewart - 37

Sajid Javid - 33

Dominic Raab - 30 (KNOCKED OUT) FIRST ROUND (17 MPs to pass) Boris Johnson - 114

Jeremy Hunt - 43

Michael Gove - 37

Dominic Raab - 27

Sajid Javid - 23

Matt Hancock - 20 (WITHDREW)

Rory Stewart - 19

Andrea Leadsom - 11 (KNOCKED OUT)

Mark Harper - 10 (KNOCKED OUT)

Esther McVey - 9 (KNOCKED OUT)

Mr Hunt was blasted following his comments by the Muslim Council of Britain.

A spokesman said: "For Downing Street to refuse to comment and our Foreign Secretary and potentially future Prime Minister to agree with the 'sentiment' of this known Islamophobe without condemning the clear bigoted intent behind it, is shocking.

"It is still further proof that Islamophobia is given a free pass at the highest echelons of the Conservative Party."

The comments came amid a wide range of questions to Jeremy Hunt at today's Westminster lobby hustings.

He warned not even Boris Johnson - who's tipped to win the contest - could prevent the "total and utter devastation" of the Tories.

Mr Hunt said: "Boris has more name recognition than me at the moment but... if we have a general election before we have left the European Union no amount of campaigning brilliance will avoid total and utter devastation for the Conservative Party."

Quizzed on Brexit, he said he would still choose No Deal Brexit if needed - as the "democratic risks" of failing to leave the EU would be "greater than no-deal".

Speaking at the hustings, the Tory leadership hopeful said: "If I was given a binary choice between no Brexit and no-deal, and the only way to leave the EU was through a no-deal Brexit, then I would take that choice because I think the democratic risks of no Brexit ultimately are far greater than the economic risks of no-deal."

Despite this he said he would go back to Brussels to try and renegotiate the Brexit deal.

“I believe it is possible to renegotiate this deal," he said.

And he claimed if he came "with new ideas, a new PM, a fresh approach", the EU would be willing to be flexible.

He also said he did not regret likening the EU to the USSR in a speech at the Tory Party conference last year.

He said: "I think it showed I'm prepared to say things to friends they might not like and able to continue a relationship even saying those uncomfortable things."

On a second referendum, Mr Hunt said he would vote Leave, adding: "Like thousands, millions of people who voted Remain, I just want to get on and leave the European Union."

Elsewhere Mr Hunt said he did believe in God.

And he refused to say whether the rollout of Universal Credit has pushed people to food banks.

He said: "I think Universal Credit is the right way forward.

"And if you look in the round as to what has happened since 2010 with the welfare reforms, they're part of the reason why we have been able to create 1,000 jobs every single day - the lowest unemployment since 1974.

"They're also one of the reasons why overall income inequality has gone down in that period."

He added: "You've always got to be compassionate and humane when you look at the way these reforms are being rolled out.

"I'd always be willing to look at that, to review the way Universal Credit is being rolled out to make sure we do it in the fairest possible way. But the principle is right."