Katie Hopkins makes 'false claims' Birmingham mosque is police no-go zone
Controversial commentator Katie Hopkins has been criticised by police for posting 'false claims' that a major West Midlands mosque has become a no-go zone for officers.
The former Apprentice contestant, who recently left radio station LBC after calling for a 'final solution' following the Manchester terror attack, angered West Midlands Police by tweeting claims that all but two specific officers had been banned from visiting Birmingham Central Mosque.
The force quickly dismissed the accusations as false, adding that the neighbourhood policing team regularly attend the Highgate mosque where they "have always been made to feel welcome."
Hopkins this morning posted quotes allegedly made by an officer working in Birmingham city centre, claiming that the mosque and West Midlands Police had made an agreement that no officers were to enter 'under any circumstances' unless they had been approved by the Imam.
In the tweet, which was shared more than 1,000 times within two hours, the officer said all of their colleagues believed the situation to be a 'disgrace' and suggested that the alleged deal was in place to stop policemen and women witnessing clerics spread hate.
However the force quickly responded to Hopkins' response for a comment, saying that "there's simply no truth in the rumour that we discourage or stop our officers and staff from attending Birmingham Central Mosque."
This was backed up by West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson, Springfield Neighbourhood Police Team and Ch Supt Chris Johnson, who criticised the 42-year-old columnist for potentially harming community relations in his patch.
Ch Supt Johnson, who is based in West Birmingham, said his officers are able to go anywhere in the city and added that he and many of his colleagues are regular visitors to the mosque on Belgrave Middleway.
Hopkins, however, continued to criticise the force and suggested that police attending the mosque to worship is not the same as attending to investigate.
Mr Jamieson attended a 'British tea party' at the mosque in response to an EDL march in the city in April. With a capacity of around 8,000, the temple is the biggest in the West Midlands and regularly hosts school groups and other non-Muslim visitors.
The Daily Mail and former Sun writer, who first came to prominence when she appeared on The Apprentice in 2006, is no stranger to controversy and was most recently under the spotlight for comments she made the morning after the terrorist attack at Manchester Arena.
Posting to her 775,000 followers in a tweet she later deleted, Hopkins wrote: "22 dead – number rising. Schofield. Don’t you even dare. Do not be a part of the problem. We need a final solution Machester."
It was soon announced that she would be leaving her job at LBC, where staff reportedly cheered and applauded upon hearing the news.
She has also been criticised for her anti-migrant rhetoric, including labelling migrants heading to the UK as 'cockroaches' and claiming she would use gunships to stop them.
